Ninja Ways
by l3eatdown
Summary: I just want to say I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Kishimoto does. Now that that is out of the way, the summary is inside, and this will be a harem fic. No yaoi, no yuri, no incest. Just harem. Thanks for reading!
1. Author's Note

Yo.

Alright, revamped **Ninja Ways: Bloodline **here for you all. I just want to clarify a few things that you may or may not make sense of in the beginning of my story due to the manga or anime.

**1.** Madara's influence has not yet reached Akatsuki, so they are not after the tailed beasts yet. That comes in my second part.

**2.** Nagato and Konan have not killed Hanzo yet and are not the rulers of the Hidden Rain. They accomplish this prior to the second part.

**3.** Naruto is more perceptive and smart as the story progresses, but is still naive when it comes to reading women due to years of never having female interaction.

**Bloodline Summary**: Naruto is chased away from the village and meets a man that changes his whole perspective on the world and life itself. He eventually returns home, but has obtained a rare bloodline.

Hope you enjoy the story.

l3eatdown out.


	2. Bloodline Chapter 1

**Chapter I: Introduction of a Boy**

Dawn began to break over horizon for the village of Konoha. The wildlife that called the forests that surrounded the large settlement home began to stir in the early morning. The villagers began to wake up to go through another day of life inside the sturdy walls of the village.

The first rays of sunlight hit the stone monument of the Hokages, reflecting the warming radiance off the rocks and into the city. On top of one of the heads of the past Kages was a boy, no older than twelve, staring off into the brightening sky. He wore a simple orange jumpsuit and a cheap pair of goggles across his forehead. His naturally spiked blonde hair swayed in the early morning breeze. His face, characterized by cerulean eyes and thin whisker marks, was downcast with disappointment.

Naruto Uzumaki was not happy. The day before was his first ever Genin Graduation Exam, and he flunked it terribly. He spent the entire night on top of the head of the Fourth Hokage, his idol and role model, thinking about how badly he screwed up the test.

The test itself was composed of four different parts: knowledge, taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Unfortunately for him, he never really paid any attention in class (which was mostly due to his teachers always excusing him from class), so he flat-out failed the knowledge part of the test. In the taijutsu spar, he lasted a good minute and a half against the teacher, but only thanks to his quick reflexes; he didn't even score a single hit on the guy he was against. In the genjutsu part, he recognized that he was trapped in a genjutsu and unsuccessfully tried to break it... a full minute after he was under the genjutsu. The last portion of the test, ninjutsu, was his best, and even it was bad. He had to do three specific jutsu to pass, which were the **S****ubstitution**, **Transformation**, and **Clone Jutsu**. The only one he nailed was the substitution.

All through the night he sulked about his failure. It was one of the worst experiences of his life, and that was saying something. He sighed and picked himself up from his sitting position and began to descend the mountain back into the village. Deciding it would be good to go and see the old man today, he set out for the Hokage Monument.

* * *

He arrived at the tower with relative ease, thanking whatever god was out there that not many of the villagers were roaming the streets yet. He walked up to the desk receptionist and gave her a warm smile. She, unlike many of the other receptionists before her, was specifically chosen for the job by the Hokage himself just for his well-being.

She returned the smile. "Good morning Mr. Uzumaki. Here to see the Hokage?"

He nodded, and she spoke into the pager. "Lord Hokage, Naruto is here to see you."

An older voice replied through the pager. "Excellent, please send him in."

She turned off the pager, and gestured to the stairs leading up to the Hokage's office. Naruto bid her adieu, and climbed the flight of stairs to the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door once, then pushed it open when he heard the cheery voice of his grandfather figure.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was an aging man. Reinstated as the Hokage for a second time in his lifetime, he had all the signs of old age, like grey hair and balding. He also had a few cancer spots due to his age and bad habit of smoking. He was now relaxing in his chair, awaiting the blonde Uzumaki. "Hello Naruto! It's good to see you!" he said with a heart-warming smile.

Naruto gave his own rare cheeky smile that he only used around those that he trusted deeply. "Hey old man! Long time, no see!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Indeed. Have a seat boy, have a seat."

Naruto did and relaxed into the comfortable chair he was in. "So what brings you here so early in the day?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto posture stiffened and he lowered his gaze as he spoke. "Well... I just wanted to talk to you about a something... I kind of failed the Genin Graduation Exam yesterday..."

Hiruzen's face softened and his eyes held sorrow for the blonde in front of him. "I see. I'm sorry Naruto."

Naruto just shook his head and then buried it in his hands. "I'm just so frustrated! I want to become a ninja so badly! I want to be strong, and to prove myself to the village so they'll stop treating me so badly!" he cried into his arms.

Sarutobi got up and walked over to stand next to the boy, rubbing a comforting hand on his back. "There, there, Naruto. You can try again next term."

The blonde stopped sniffling and looked up at the kage with puffy eyes. "But I still won't be strong enough. No matter how hard I try, I can't do anything right!"

Hiruzen paced away from him to one of the walls of his office. On the wall were the portraits of all four past Hokage's, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze. "Tell me, Naruto, do you know how you can get true strength?" he turned around to look at the blonde, who was looking at him with a confused expression. "All of the past Hokages knew, and so do I."

"I don't know... How?" he asked the Third.

"True strength comes from protecting those precious to you. The entire village is precious to the Hokage, or any kage for that matter, and that is where their strength originates. When you fight for yourself, you have nothing... But when you fight to protect someone you hold dear, you have strength. Do you understand?" the old kage said to him.

Naruto nodded his head. "I think so.." He stood up and smiled warmly at the leader of the Leaf. "Thanks old man. I needed that."

Hiruzen smiled and sat back down in his chair. "Anytime Naruto. If you ever need to talk about anything, you can always come to me."

"Sure thing. Later old man... I've got to go and prepare..." he said with a frown.

"Hm? Prepare for what?" Hiruzen asked.

"You know... It's _that_ time of the year in a few days." he said with a grim look.

The Hokage blanched as he remembered exactly what Naruto was referring to. "You know Naruto, I could just assign you your own ANBU detail so you don't have to hide in the forests every year.." Hiruzen said with a hopeful look that maybe the blonde would take him up on his offer.

It was not meant to be as Naruto declined with a shake of his head. "No thanks old man. I've hidden out there for a few years now. They all know that I leave the village around this time. Even if anyone could find me out there, I can easily outrun them. Your ANBU can vouch for me on that!" he finished with a cheeky smile.

Sarutobi sighed heavily. "It does not seem that you will change your mind on the matter.. Just be careful, alright Naruto?" he said with weary eyes.

Naruto cocked his head and flashed the old kage a bright smile. "I will old man! Don't worry so much!"

For a moment, the worry that Hiruzen was feeling disappeared as he was graced by a rare smile from the blonde. "I'll see you later alright?" Naruto said, and then he was gone out of the room.

Hiruzen relaxed back into his chair. He took out his tobacco pipe and drew a long puff from it. He just could not shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something bad was going to happen. _'Be careful Naruto...__'_ he thought to himself as he resumed his duties as Hokage, which was fill out paperwork, fill out paperwork, and fill out more paperwork.

_*****A Few Days**_** Later*****

October tenth. The day that the Nine-tailed Demon Fox was defeated and killed by the Fourth Hokage at the cost of his own life. The day that the festival in honor of the Fourth's sacrifice was held. The day that Naruto Uzumaki was born on... The day he hated the most.

That day, the most special day of the year for anyone else, was the day he absolutely despised. Until he could outrun the villagers, he had to be assigned an ANBU escort wherever he went on his birthday for fear of being beaten and possibly killed by the many drunks that partook in the festivities on that day. When he turned eight, he could finally outrun the villagers and evade them for most of the day, but in the end he still was punished in the form of a beating for crimes he did not know of to this day.

At nine, he fled the village for the night to take shelter in the forests outside, hoping to avoid the angry mobs of drunkards. It worked beautifully. Every year after that, he would hide in the forests, and even though they knew where he went, they would not follow.

That was where young Naruto was at this current moment; hiding from the villagers on his birthday, lying on one of the many branches of a giant tree. He was maybe a mile out from the village, give or take. The sounds of the partying and laughter of the villagers rang through air early in the afternoon.

He sighed and began to think about why the villagers despised him so much. He supposed it had something to do with the day he was born, considering that they only attacked him on his birthday every year. He thought about the festival in honor of the Fourth, and how it was held to commemorate his sacrifice in killing the Nine-tailed Demon Fox. Never one to be a critical thinker or perceptive, he strained his brain to find the connection between the two. _'There MUST be a connection!'_ he screamed in his head.

Before he could complete his calculation of putting the two events together, a man's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Well, well, ain't this a surprise?"

The blonde jumped up from his place on the branch to see who had found him way out here. He felt the color drain from his face as he saw three Leaf ninja standing on the branch directly above him, glaring down at him with devilish smiles. "Who would have thought that we would run into you while returning from our mission?" the middle one said.

"Yeah, and it looks like he's all alone, too." the shortest of the three said.

"How lucky for us." the last and tallest member of the squad chimed in.

Naruto got into a ready position, feeling threatened by the three in front of him. "W-what do you want from me?" he stammered out.

They all burst into laughter. "We want you. More specifically, you're life." the middle man said as he drew a katana.

Naruto began to tremble. Villagers, he could outrun for sure. Ninja... even he didn't know if he could avoid them for long. "Why fo you want to kill me?" he asked, thinking that if he wanted to live another he would have to think quick.

"Because you murdered our friends!"

"Our family!"

"And now we are getting our justified revenge!"

The other two flipped a kunai into their palms and the three of them separated to triangulate and corner the blonde. They all jumped in unison, sharp objects aimed for various killing points on the boy's body. They all hit their marks, and they would have reveled in the killing if not for the poof of smoke and the log that appeared in the boy's place. "Fuck! A substitution!" the tallest yelled, and they began scanning the area frantically with their eyes.

"There he is!" Shorty yelled as he spotted the blonde traversing the thick foliage with relative ease. "Get him before he gets away!"

And so they chased him. And chased him. And after about thirty minutes of several attempts to kill the blonde end in failure due to a very well timed **Substitution Jutsu**, Middle Man called off the chase.

"What!? But we can't just let him get away?" Shorty shouted to the squad leader.

"Shut up! We gave the notice in advance that we would be returning by tonight. It was only pure luck that we got here hours ahead of our original time of arrival AND found the brat. If we pursue any further, we won't make it back on time." he told him. "And besides, he's heading in the wrong direction of the village. With any luck, he'll get lost out here and die."

"Yeah, good point." the tallest squad member said. "C'mon. Let's get back to the village." And with that, they turned back towards the village, not wanting to have to explain why they were a day late and why a certain blonde was now missing.

_*****With Naruto*****_

Naruto had not slowed his pace even after he knew that the ninja were no longer chasing him. He had not stopped once to get the bearings of his surroundings. Even while moving through the dense foliage, his pace never faltered. He just couldn't stop asking himself the repeating question, _'Why do they all hate me?'_ over and over in his mind. He just ran and ran and ran, his eyes clenched shut from crying for so long and hard, tear lines streaking down his face, leaving their mark from where his tears had stopped flowing hours ago.

He ran into what felt like a cushioned wall, and fell backwards hard. _'What did I hit?'_ he thought as he tried to sit himself up. He lifted his gaze, trying to find out what he had hit. His eyes fell upon a very strange-looking man.

For starters, the man's choice of attire was odd; a black robe with a few red clouds in certain spots. The man's skin was flawless and had the paleness of a dead body. There were so many features about his head and face. The first thing that stood out to Naruto was the man's spiky, orange hair, which was a shade darker than that of his own sweatpants and jacket. The next thing was the several piercings that the man had: six through his nose, seven through either ear, and two that jutted out from below his bottom lip, like metallic fangs. His oddest feature to Naruto, however, was his eyes; the entire eye, except for his pupil, was a shade of purple, lighter than violet and darker than lavender, making them seem to give off a ripple pattern in them. His gaze centered itself on Naruto.

The blonde felt uneasy about the stare he was getting. It wasn't like any of the glares and leers he was accustomed to getting back in the leaf village. Instead of hate or fear, the man's glare held no emotion; as if being regarded with dead eyes. Naruto, in his uneasiness, stuttered out, "S-sorry mister." The strange man attempted no move of acknowledgement. He just kept his almost carefree gaze on the blonde boy in front of him.

After a few more moments, Naruto's uneasiness traded with annoyance. "What are you staring at?" he said in an irked tone.

The man once again did not show that he had heard him. Instead, he moved his hands into a single hand sign. Half a second later, a column of water erupted from a nearby stream. Without saying a word, and with one hand still holding the sign, he pointed at Naruto, and the column lunged at him.

_'Dammit! I can't dodge or substitute in time!'_ he thought with panic. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how he was going to die. Reflexively, he shut his eyes and brought his hands up to cover his face from the attack that was sure to kill him. He waited for what seemed like eternity before he opened his eyes again.

The water column had disappeared. There was no residue of where it had went or what happened to it. It simply vanished. Naruto furrowed his brow, deeply confused, and wondered if the stranger had anything to do with what just happened. Looking in the man's direction, Naruto could see that he clearly did not interfere with his own attack.

Naruto, thanks to his piercing blue eyes, can look to see the emotions behind someone's eyes. Even if it is the tiniest amount of it, he can see it. The man's eyes held there uncaring gaze on the boy, but Naruto could see the slightest glimpse of surprise in his eyes. Apparently, he had not expected whatever happened to happen. And then the man spoke to him. "What is your name?"

Naruto grew a small tick mark on his head. This man, who had just tried to kill him, was asking for his name, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Feeling the brat inside him coming out, he answered, "You expect me to just tell you my name after you try to kill me? You're just as bad as the villagers!" Naruto said, expressing how upset he was at the last part.

The stranger kept his stoic face, his eyes holding no emotion at all. He asked again, "What is your name?"

Naruto, irked that the man had completely ignored him, decided it would be best to just answer him. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

This time surprise was clearly displayed on the man's face. _'What could that mean?'_ Naruto thought wonderingly. Before he could give it anymore thought, the man had closed the distance between them. Naruto tensed for a move of aggression, but instead the robed stranger extended his hand to the boy, confusing Naruto. On a hunch he also extended his hand and the two shook hands.

"My apologies for attempting to attack you." he started, dropping the handshake. "But, in all fairness, you are trespassing on my property. State your reason for being in the Land of Rain's domain?"

Naruto gaped at the last part. _'I'm in the Land of Rain!? How far did I run, and for how long!?'_ he screamed inside his head. Composing himself, he told the stranger about how he got chased away from the village by ninja, was almost killed multiple times, and how he kept running and did not stop for anything. Normally, Naruto would never try to talk to someone he barely knew, but this man was taking the time to actually talk to him, unlike the villagers, so he could trust this one man.

The man nodded, he eyes off in a random direction, distant, as if his mind was somewhere else. Finally he turned back to the boy. "I want to make a proposition to you. I cannot tell you the reasons why, but I would like to take you on as an apprentice. I will teach you how to defend yourself should any more situations like the one that happened at your village occur again. Do you accept?"

Naruto, for one, was in stunned silence. This was all so new to him. No one barely glanced in his direction, let alone thought about taking him as an apprentice. Through tears, Naruto gave him a huge, genuine smile and said, "I accept. Thank you." and with that Naruto rushed forward to hug the man.

The man, who looked taken aback at the boy's reaction, just looked down thoughtfully at the blonde who was hugging him and crying into his robe. After a minute, Naruto broke the hug, sniffed, and wipe the remaining tears away. He looked up at his new teacher, who was walking in the same direction he had gazed off into earlier. Naruto ran to catch up to him.

Walking along his new mentor, Naruto asked a question that had long been on his mind. "Excuse me mister, I told you my name, but you never told me yours. Who are you?"

The man stopped and looked down at the boy. Instead of the cold dead look in his eyes earlier, they held anticipation, excitement, and small amount of happiness. "My name is Nagato." he said, the slightest of smiles on his lips.

Naruto gave him the usual cheeky smile and said, "Alright then Nagato-sensei!"

He turned back to walking down the road in silence, but on the inside his excitement and joy were bursting at the seams. He had made a new friend. Remembering what his grandfather figure had told him long ago, he resolved to himself to keep this bond with this person he had just met.

One of his new precious people.

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter II: Beginnings**


	3. Bloodline Chapter 2

**Chapter II: Beginnings**

"Hey sensei, is this where you live?" Naruto asked eagerly. The group of two had only been walking for maybe fifteen minutes when they entered a clearing in the rapidly thinning forestry. In the dead center of the clearing was an ordinary log cabin.

"Yes." Nagato responded. He walked up to the door, opened it, and made a gesture for Naruto to go through first. "After you." he said with a small smile.

Normally, Naruto would have been very skeptical. No one offered for him to go first unless it was a trap for him. The villagers would either mob him when he entered the room or he would be locked inside the room with almost no way out. _'They underestimate my skills as a prankster and trapmaster.'_ Naruto thought smugly.

But this situation was different. Naruto could tell instantly that Nagato harbored no resentment for him. It was all in his eyes; those mysterious, rippled, purple eyes. Naruto made a mental note to ask his new sensei about them later. Without any hesitation, he strode through the door, his sensei following him.

Naruto gaped at the sight before him. The inside of the cabin was anything but ordinary. The inside was way more spacious than the outside revealed it to be. The kitchen and living room were merged into one big room, and the bedrooms, three in total, were divided among the three walls that didn't hold the door to outside. The furniture in the room looked expensive, but classy and laid back, giving off a feel of normalty.

"Okay Naruto, follow me please." Nagato said as he walked and stopped at the door to their left. Opening the door, he says, "And this will be your room."

The room Nagato had appointed for Naruto was easily as big as the first room, another testament to the size of the interior compared to its size outside. In the middle of the room against the wall was a queen-sized bed. Against one wall was a long dresser with various items on them, which, to Naruto anyways, looked like nic-nacs. On the opposite side was a single portrait of a teenage boy. Naruto instantly recognised him. "Is that you Nagato-sensei? Is this your room?" he asked, still looking at the picture of his younger sensei without the piercings, weird robe, and rippled eyes.

Nagato averted his gaze away from Naruto, but the blonde saw the sadness that had flashed in his eyes. "It's sort of my room Naruto. Don't worry about it though. I have another one." he said, turning back toward the blonde.

Naruto wanted to ask why his sensei seemed saddened at his question, but decided not to since they had only just arrived. His sensei probably needed some rest. Just then, back in the main room, Naruto heard the front door to the cabin open, and then a female voice. "Nagato?"

Nagato exited the room back into the first. "Yes, and there is someone I would like you to meet." With that, he turned back to Naruto. "Come Naruto."

Naruto walked out of the room and his eyes fell upon a woman, whom he assumed was the one that just came inside the cabin.

The woman looked to be Nagato's age, wearing the same robe as he. Her hair was a purple-ish blue, and her amber eyes stoic but caring. She had a single lip piercing at the base of her lower lip, and a purple origami carnation adorning the right side of her head.

She looked first at Nagato, then to Naruto. "Nagato, who is this?" she said, curiosity filling her voice.

Nagato replied, "Konan, this is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto saw Konan's eyes widen slightly in surprise. _'I wonder why they keep doing that at the mentioning of my name..'_ he thought, letting out an exasperated sigh while Nagato continued. "He will be staying with us for a while for training under me."

Konan nodded, and looked straight at Naruto, a soft smile on her face. "Please to meet you Naruto. My name is Konan."

Naruto nodded as a response, then turned to his sensei. "Hey Nagato-sensei, is Konan your wife or girlfriend or something?"

Both people gave off different reactions. Konan was caught off guard by the question and blushed slightly at the boy's misunderstanding. Nagato, however, let out a small laugh, saying, "No, no, Naruto, she is not my wife or 'girlfriend', we are just very close friends. We were on the same team together when we were enlisted ninja."

Naruto nodded, accepting that answer, then turned back to Konan, bowing slightly. "Sorry for embarassing you Miss Konan."

She blushed even more hearing that the boy had noticed her embarassment. She quickly composed herself and said, "No worries Naruto, and it's just Konan please."

Nagato let out a relaxed sigh. "Hey Naruto, why don't you get settled in while I discuss some things with Konan?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing Nagato-sensei! But..." he paused, "could you do me a favor?"

Nagato looked at him inquisitively. "I suppose. What do you need?"

Naruto looked into his eyes, seriousness sweeping over his face. "Could you please send a letter to the old man telling him that I'm okay? He's probably the only person back in that village that even remotely misses me." he said, sadness clear in his voice as he finished.

Naruto saw Konan's eyes soften at him, but her face showed confusion. "Old man?" she asked.

Naruto, the sadness still lingering in his eyes, put on his mask of happiness and replied in a fake smile, "Oh! I'm sorry, I mean the Third Hokage."

Konan just looked at the boy in disbelief. "You call the God of Shinobi 'old man'?!" she asked, her voice mimicking her facial expression.

Nagato just gave a short chuckle. "I think that this will be a fun experience for the three of us..." he said under his breath. "Anyways, yes Naruto, if you write the letter, I will send it to the Leaf Village with directions that only the Hokage read it himself. But, I must ask that you refrain from using my name or Konan's. We prefer not to draw a lot of attention to ourselves."

Naruto gave a nod, then said, "Of course sensei, and more thing..." he said continuing, "I would like to go back to the Leaf Village to attend the academy with the kids my age, which is about half a year from now." He paused, then looking straight at his sensei, says, "Will that be enough time for you to properly train me for me to be able to defend myself?"

Nagato closed his eyes, thinking about whether he had the time or not, at least, to Naruto, that's what he seemed to be doing. He finally opened his eyes after a few moments and said, "I believe it can be possible, though you won't be to the standards I wish you to be, you will still be able to care for yourself and join your academy." Nagato said, smiling at the last part.

Naruto jumped into the air. "Alright! Thanks Nagato-sensei!"

The older ex-ninja nodded. "No problem Naruto. We'll begin your training tomorrow, so go get your rest."

The blonde nodded, and darted back inside of his appointed room. The size of it still awed him. He walked over to the bed, and, looking on the nightstand at the clock, realized that it was dusk already. The sudden realization caused his body to grow heavy, and his eyes to droop some.

He shook it off, going to the bathroom to do a nightly routine; getting a shower, brushing his teeth, slipping into his nighttime wear.

Once he was done, he crawled into bed, thinking, _'Tomorrow begins a new kind of life.'_ he thought blissfully. Within moments, he fell into a dreamless sleep with a smile on his face, the first in years.

_*****The Next Morning*****_

Naruto was awake earlier than normal. "Time to start training today!" he said enthuiastically. "But first..." he trailed off, taking out a piece of scroll and unraveling it, showing his almost intelligible handwriting on it. He read it over again for probably the fifth time to make sure everything was explained to the old man.

He reread it in his head, _Dear old man, since you're probably the only person missing me now, I figured that I should write you a letter telling you that I am fine and well. I was chased away from the village by three Leaf ninja, but I couldn't tell who they were. Don't worry about me, I met someone along the way and he's been helping me out. He's even going to train me so I can defend myself! Can you believe that!? I'm so pumped! Anyways, I'll be back in about six months in time to attend the academy with the kids my age, so please save a form for me! Naruto._

Feeling satisfied with his letter to the old man, he rolled the scroll back up, and exited his room. He was surprised to find Konan already in there, cooking a rather large breakfast.

Naruto's stomach growled hungrily as the smell of food wafted into his nose. He had forgotten that he did not eat the night before, so he was practically running on empty despite all the energy he had. Konan took notice of him, saying, "Good morning Naruto. Did you sleep well?"

Naruto smiled big as a feeling swept over him. He couldn't explain it, but what she had said had caused this wonderful feeling to flow through his body. No one had ever said something so caring to him. He responded to her, "Yes, thank you." he said, "And you?"

The bluenette smiled warmly back at him. I slept just fine." She then brought a plate stacked with egg rolls and rice rolls over to the table positioned in the center of the room. "Here's breakfast Naruto. I'm sure you're starving."

Naruto couldn't help but drool some at the sight of all that food. He practically flew to his spot at the table and began devouring his food after saying a short blessing. Konan got a plate of her own, although way smaller in comparison to Naruto's, and began eating her breakfast in a more civilized manner.

Naruto was almost comepletely done with all of his food when a thought occured to him that made him stop abruptly. "Hey Konan..." he started.

She looked over at him, still chewing on her last bite. "Yes Naruto?"

He took on a wondering look. "Where's Nagato-sensei?"

Konan smiled and explained, "Ah, Nagato wakes up early every morning and goes outside every morning because he enjoys being nature. He gets his breakfast from berries or herbs that he finds while out there. In fact, he's probably out there now." she said with her eyes closed for the most part, but opened at the end.

Naruto instantly knew she was trying to hide her eyes so he wouldn't know she was lying to him, but decided not to press the matter. After he finished his food and deposited his dish in the sink, he turned to the door. "Well, I'll go give him some company then." he said as he walked out the door into the clearing.

He looked around a little before spotting his sensei sitting beneath a tree, staring off into space.

_'At least she hadn't lied to me about that.'_ he thought.

He walked over to his sensei, who snapped out of his daze when he saw him coming. "Hello Naruto." he said.

"Hey sensei, what're you doing out here?" Naruto asked with a friendly smile on his face.

Nagato turned back to looking out into space, and said, "I like to enjoy the peace and calmness that accompanies nature on most days. It relaxes me." He paused. "You know, being around such a peaceful environment has actually given me the dream to try to bring peace to this world."

Naruto looked at him with a confused look. "Really?"

Nagato just gave a small upturned smile and said, "Yes. Actually, it wasn't my dream at first. I had it passed on to me by my own sensei and my childhood friend."

naruto nodded, then said, "So Konan passed on her dream to you?"

Nagato turned to look at him, his smile still there, but Naruto noticed something that he had yet to see in his sensei's eyes until now; sadness. "No," he started, "My friend, Yahiko. He was a part of mine and Konan's team..." he trailed off, dropping his gaze some, his smile faltering. "He died protecting Konan and myself. Before he passed, he told me that he believed that I could bring peace to the world. After that day, I resolved to fulfill his dream of world peace." he said, his smile once again upon his face.

Nagato waved his hand before the blonde could say anything else. "Do you have that letter for your Hokage?"

"Oh yeah!" said blonde said, pulling out a scroll. "I almost forgot. Here's the letter for the old man sensei."

Nagato nodded, accepting the scroll. "I'll make sure he gets it Naruto. So, are you ready to begin your training? It's going to be way harder than I wanted it to be since I have so little time to teach you, but I think you can handle it. We'll start off by building your strength, speed, and stamina, and then we'll work on your chakra control, followed by..." Nagato said, continuing on. Naruto hadn't heard anything past the second sentence, having already said an enthusiastic "YES!" and jumping around celebrating like a little kid on a sugar high.

_*****Three Months Later*****_

Naruto exhaled an exhausted sigh and plops to the ground on his back, a soft breeze brushing against his skin. _'Man, these last few months have been hard. Sensei wasn't kidding when he said that he'd be working me big time.'_ he thought to himself. He remembered back to the day he started his strength and speed training the day after they had settled in. He never knew that his sensei was such a workhorse.

FLASHBACK

_"Hey sensei, what are these?" Naruto inquired while holding objects that seem_ to_ be like arm and ankle bracelets._

_Nagato responds, "These are chakra weights Naruto. We will be using these for your speed and strength part of this training exercise." He walks over to Naruto and straps the weights to his ankles and wrists._

_Naruto moves his arms and feet about, trying getting a feel for the new accessories. "They don't feel any heavier." As if on cue, the weights make his arms drop to the ground. Struggling with them, he lifts his arms up finally. "What the hell!" he yelled in surprise._

_Nagato just smiles smugly. "The chakra weights take some of your chakra into them, making them heavier the stronger you get, but it seems that you have a rather large chakra reserve for a civilian, so it made them heavier than usual." he said, the last part holding amazement._

_He regained his smug look. "Okay, now go do a few laps around the clearing. Hop to it!" he said, barking out the last order._

_Naruto jumped up and, with effort, began jogging around the clearing. After only one lap and his muscles already aching, he thinks to himself, 'This is going to be a long training excercise...'_

FLASHBACK END

Naruto let a laugh out at the memory. Through all of his training, even on his worst days, he never complained to his sensei. He was more than happy that someone actually thought he was worth the time. He then pondered further down his training schedule after he finished the speed and strength training.

FLASHBACK

_"Congratulations Naruto. You have finished your strength and speed part of your training. Right now I'd have to say that you are chunin strength and speed." said Nagato._

_Naruto, who looks more built now, gives him his usual cheesy smile. "Alright! What's next sensei?"_

_Nagato smiles bigger, taking on an almost sadistic look. "A combination of the two, the endurance training." He then raises his hand, and snaps his finger._

_In the forest behind him, a thumping can be heard, getting closer and closer. Trees snap in the distance. Naruto gulps in fear of what it might be. Suddenly out of the foliage comes a gigantic two-headed dog, both with piercings through their noses and the rippled eyes, both just like Nagato's._

_"Naruto," his sensei called to him, "your endurance training involves avoiding my summoning for as long as possible. Your training beginsNOW!" he said the last faster than he said the rest of the words._

_The beast growled and leapt at the blonde. Naruto only had one thought as he turned and ran for his life; 'Fuck.'_

FLASHBACK END

He also laughed at that little instance, and goes further down the line to his current training exercise that started only a month ago, chakra control.

FLASHBACK

_"Well done Naruto." Nagato tells his student. "I am satisfied with your endurance training. Though you cannot avoid my summoning for as long as I want you to, you can outrun him for a full two hours, which is quite impressive. I'd say that you are the same level of skill as your strength and speed, a low chunin."_

_Naruto gave a triumphant grin. "Alright sensei! What's next?"_

_Naguto smiled. "It's your lucky day. Now we've finished the hard part of your training, we can work on the simpler stuff; your chakra control."_

_Naruto became puzzled. "What do you mean by chakra control?"_

_"Chakra control," his sensei began, "is the moulding of your chakra so you can harness it easily without overexerting yourself in the process. Due to your large chakra reserves, it is much harder for you to obtain an adequate chakra control, but we will have fun tortu-.. I mean, training you to mould your chakra easily."_

_Naruto just hung his head, knowing that his sensei's idea of 'fun' often involved him doing unimaginable training._

FLASHBACK END

So far the his chakra control was poor at best. Of course, his sensei had already told him this would be one of his hardest training points, but the fact that he wasn't even close to genin level really dampened his spirits.

"Good job for today Naruto. I'm sure that you'll get the hang of it sooner or later." his sensei said to him.

Naruto gave a weak smile. "Thanks sensei. I've almost got the leaf-balancing exercise!"

"You sure do. I'd say you have about a week before you can do it without concentrating... If you practice nonstop for the next week." said Nagato, to which he let out an amused laugh as Naruto slumped his shoulders dejectedly. Just then, he tensed up and took a defensive stance.

Naruto, seeing his sensei act so different so suddenly asked the million dollar question, "What's wrong sensei?"

His response was getting shoved to the ground as his sensei rolled over him, back up on his feet, looking into a specific direction of the forest. Naruto, in his confusion, turned to look at why his sensei had pushed him so violently.

What he saw made him shake visibly. Lodged into the ground behind him were several kunai and shuriken, all deadly and sharpened, and at least an inch deep into the hard packed dirt. _'If sensei wouldn't have pushed me, I would have...died.'_ he thought his stomach threatening to throw everything back up his throat. He calmed his stomach down and took a fearful look at his sensei.

Nagato stood there, stoic, his eyes showing no amount of emotion in them. "Show yourselves." he called out to the forest.

After a few seconds, more shuriken and kunai were thrown straight at him. He made no move to dodge or evade; he just stood there.

Naruto felt his fear rising for his sensei, and shouted, "Lookout Nagato-sensei!"

But Nagato acted like he didn't hear him at all. He just stood there, the deadly objects closing the distance with every millisecond. Naruto heard Nagato say something that was inaudible, and then his sensei widened his eyes. As a response to this, the shuriken and kunai were suddenly blasted away, scattering in all directions. None of them even came close to Nagato.

Naruto just sat there on the ground, his mouth open in awe at what he had just seen. _'What kind of jutsu was that!?'_ he yelled inside of his head.

Nagato blinked once, then called out again in his forceful voice, "Show yourselves."

This time, the forest responded as three people emerged out of it. They all wore dark clothing: black ninja pants, black flak jackets, black gloves, black cloaks, black shawls, and black gas masks. The only part of their skin visible was their eyes and the in between. They all wore headbands representing the Hidden Rain Village.

The man in the center stepped forward and spoke. "You. Lord Hanzo has been searching for you. For a moment, I thought you were that other kid, the one that died. But Lord Hanzo told us about _those_ eyes. You must be the one called Nagato."

Naruto looked back and forth between his unchanging sensei and the three new threats. He felt his fear slowly rising inside of his chest.

The same man spoke once again. "You will pay for your crimes against the Hidden Rain Village. We were ordered to bring you back dead or alive, so we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." he said the last part while getting into a fighting a stance. The other two followed after him.

Nagato just stood there and didn't say anything. A minute passed, and Naruto could feel the tension suffocating him. Finally it was broken by the same man. "I guess it's the hard way."

He broke his stance and ran through a series of hand seals. Then, penetrating his hands into the dirt, he yelled, **"Water Style: Groundwater Jutsu!"** Almost instantaneously, a pool of water emerges from the ground, surrounding him where his hands are, getting bigger and bigger until it was as big as a small pond.

Pulling his hands out of the ground to stop the jutsu, his subordinates flash through the same hand seals, finishing the chain with a loud, **"Collaboration Jutsu: Twin Water Pillars!" **Two large columns of water erupt from the pool, and merge together in an arc straight for Nagato.

Naruto, fearing for his sensei, starts to call out to tell him to get out of the way, but halts when he sees his sensei look; cold, no fear, no worry, no surprise, no emotion.

His sensei said something again, this time louder for Naruto to hear. **"Almighty Push."** He did the same effect as before, widening his eyes just as the jutsu is about to close the distance between him and it, causing it to explode outward and around him.

Naruto still sat in a fearful position on the ground watching his sensei with awe. He looked back and noticed one of the enemy ninja charging him, a sword composed of water in hand. One also had a sword in hand, holding back, waiting on an opportunity to strike. The third, the one that spoke, was weaving through many hand seals.

Nagato pointed a hand toward the Rain-nin charging him and said, **"Universal Pull."** The man lurched forward, as if pulled by an unseen force, heading straight for Nagato's extended arm. Before the man reached him, Nagato slid a thin, sharpened rod out of his sleeve and into his hand, impaling the man through the heart.

Naruto instantly threw up. Never had he seen someone killed so brutally before. After regaining control of his stomach, he turned his attention back to the fight again. Nagato was now fighting, mostly dodging, the second ninja. He took a giant leap backwards, distancing himself from the second Rain-nin. He extended his hand again and said, **"Invincible Throw."**

With a jerk, the man was lifted into the air guided by Nagato's hand. For a moment, he just hung there, flailing madly, trying to escape the hold of Nagato's invisible power. Then as quickly as he went up, Nagato brought his arm down hard, and the man crashed into the ground creating a crater. Nagato walked to the crater and peered down into it. The man was crumpled, no doubt every bone he had broken. Amazingly, still alive, and conscious. Nagato took his time reaching the man, then with a flick of his wrist, slid another sharpened rod into his hand. Twirling it, he threw it down into the man's chest. The man coughed up blood, took a few shallow breaths, and then the light flickered from his eyes and he was gone.

Naruto threw up once again. _'So much brutality!'_ he exclaimed in his mind. Nagato made his way up out of the hole, took a quick glance at Naruto, and turned halfway to face the last ninja when he heard, **"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"**

Nagato turned fully and tried to cast his own justu, but it was too late. A large dragon formed of water collided with him, forcing him back into the hole he just came out of. The dragon seemed to be drilling into the crater, making it wider as it kept going.

Naruto watched this all happen in shock and fear. He made no move as he watched the dragon pound away at his sensei somewhere in the crater. For what seemed like eternity for Naruto, the dragon finally stopped drilling into the crater, leaving a large pond in the clearing they were in.

Naruto crawled backwards, the man getting closer to the pond to take a closer look. When the man stopped at the pool, Nagato floated up to the surface.

Naruto shed a relieved sigh. But it quickly turned into clammy fear and panic when he realized that his sensei's eyes were different. They still had the same pattern in them, and they still held no emotion,but something was missing.

Naruto realized what was missing, and his heart stopped momentarily, the fear filling every cell in his body.  
His sensei's eyes held no light in them.  
Nagato was dead.

* * *

Original (to my knowledge anyways) Jutsu

**Water Style: Groundwater Jutsu**

_Rank: D_

_Description: Supplementary water element ninjutsu. Gathers underground water and brings it to surface. Useful for performing more powerful water techniques with the absense of another source of water._

**Collaboration Jutsu: Twin Water Pillars**

_Rank: C_

_Description: Offensive water element ninjutsu. A combination of two __**Water Style: Water Pillar Jutsu**__. Creates two columns of water that combine to crush or bash an opponent._

**Invincible Throw**

_Rank: S - Rinnegan_

_Description: Offensive Rinnegan ninjutsu. Like the __**Almighty Push**__ and __**Universal Pull**__, it uses the forces of gravity to heft an opponent into the air, before throwing them back down into the earth, or into any other object that they may be thrown at. (Think of how Hinata was tossed into the air during her fight with Pain in the Canon)_

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter III: Demons That Lay In Waiting**


	4. Bloodline Chapter 3

**Chapter III: Demons That Lay In Waiting**

In that instant, time seemed to stop for Naruto. He kept his eyes glued to the lifeless body of Nagato, the cold clammy hand of fear gripping his heart. The man smirked, satisfied with his kill. He turned to Naruto. "Sorry kid, but Lord Hanzo told us to kill anyone with him, so prepare to meet your God." he snickered evilly, sauntering over to Naruto.

Naruto crawled backwards in fear, tears flowing from his eyes. He took another glance at his sensei, those purple eyes faded and dead. He then felt something in the pit of his stomach. It burned, steadily growing, his tears coming out faster and harder. He stood to his feet and looked defiantly at the man. The man who had killed his sensei. _His_ sensei. The burning feeling kept rising steadily, as Naruto clenched his fists and the air around him began to swirl with strange orange chakra.

The man halted his advance, bewildered and amazed at what he was seeing. Wavy orange chakra was coming from everywhere on the boy's body. The scared boy in front of him was now looking at him with pure hate and anger. His nails had elongated and his incisors transformed into canines. The thin whisker marks became increasingly pronounced, and his eyes. _Those _eyes, slitted and blood-red.

Naruto took a step forward, the burning reaching its peak, ready to explode at the nearest object; and Naruto had his sights on the man in front of him. _**"You killed my sensei..."**_ he said, his voice becoming deep and demonic.

The man's surprise flashed into fear for a second, but was replaced by arrogance just as quickly. "I don't care if you have some sort of special power or not, you're just a kid. Theres's no way you can beat me!" he barked, weaving through hand signs.

Naruto stood there staring intently at the man. _**"You killed my sensei..."**_ he said again.

The man finished his last hand seal. "And now you can join him! **Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!"** A few blobs of water sprung up from the pools around the battlefield, and made a b-line for Naruto, who just stood there. They all hit there mark, creating a cloud of smoke after impact.

The watched the smoke for any signs of the weird boy he just attacked. His face fell when he saw that the boy's wavy chakra had covered his whole body now, creating a cloak. _**"You killed my sensei..." **_he said yet again, _**"SO NOW YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"**_ He took off straight for the man, and before he could even react landed a fist in his gut.

The Rain-nin staggered back, surprised and amazed at the boy's strength and speed. He tried to weave through more hand seals, but Naruto was on him again, landing a sweep kick at his legs. The enemy ninja evaded this time, jumping over the kick, and bringing a fist down to connect with the boy's face. He connected, sending Naruto skidding across the ground, a large bruise on his face.

Smirking the man, relaxed his body, sure that the fight was over. He snarled when he saw the boy up again running at him. Naruto did a jump kick aimed for the guy's stomach, but was caught by him and tossed away, crashing into a tree. He stood to his feet once again.

The Rain-nin stared angrily at the boy who wouldn't just give up. "Why won't you just fucking die!" he shouted, forming a katana of water in his hand. He ran forward to try to impale the boy into the tree.

Naruto side-stepped at the last moment, letting the sword root itself deep into the tree, and punched the man in the face, sending him back. The Rain-nin recovered, wiping some blood from his mouth, and ran at Naruto once again.

Naruto did his best to dodge, but a few lucky swipes hit his arms and chest. The man smirked every time he got a hit in, thinking that it will all be over soon. Naruto kicked at his arm, sending him off-balance long enough to get himself away for a moment.

The last ninja glared at Naruto hatefully, but his face twisted into confusion and shock. He could see the wounds that he had inflicted on the boy, but they were closing up at an unbelievable pace. Shaking he yelled out, "Just what the fuck _are_ you!?" and charged the boy yet again.

Naruto shook with rage, all the memories of the villagers mocking, ridiculing, and beating him, shouting the same thing at him. _**"I AM NARUTO UZUMAKI!"**_ he screamed, dashing forward to meet the man and finish the fight.

In the next few seconds, everything slowed down. Naruto saw everything happening around him in slow motion. The sword being thrust at his chest. His clawed hand aimed for the man's face. His other hand grabbing the sword and diverting it away from his heart. The sword hit home into the right side of his chest with a sickening squelch. His free hand reeled back, only leaving a few shallow cuts across his face.

And then everything sped back up. The man recoiled in pain, dropping his sword of water and bringing his hands up to his face, screaming and cursing. Naruto fell to the ground on his back. The chakra cloak left him and he gripped his chest where the katana drove into him. He tried sitting up, but lay back down, feeling too weak to lift himself all the way.

The man stopped his cries of pain. He stalked over to the boy lying on the ground, his eyes filled with pure anger. "It's time for you to die!" he yelled, pulling out a kunai.

Naruto just watched him move over to him, looking back into the man's hate-filled eyes with coldness and bitterness. His body wouldn't respond to anything he tried to move. So he just waited for the inevitable. _'So this is how I am to die?'_ he asked himself inside of his head.

The man finally reached him, standing over his body, gripping the kunai tightly. He raised it above his head for the finishing blow. "Now you die." he spoke with finality, bringing his hand down to pierce his victim's heart. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for his life to end.

**"Invincible Throw!"**

Naruto opened his eyed to see the man being jerked up, his kunai leaving his hand and bouncing harmlessly on Naruto's chest. He flew up into the air, shock and surprise clear on his face. Naruto blinked, and the man came falling to the earth below, landing with sick squish as a small crater formed on the impact. The man looked deformed in almost every way possible, and impossibly still alive. Naruto turned his head with effort to look at his savior.

Nagato stood at the edge of his crater, looking brand new and revitalized. Next to him stood a tall and muscular man, wearing the same red cloud patterned robe, a Rain forehead protector with a slash through it. He also had several piercings like Nagato: three needles protruding out of the canal and into the upper cartilage on either ear and seven more on his face starting at the bridge of his eyes and leading down on either side to his jaw bone, forming an upside down V. The strangest part of him was his hair and eyes; exactly the same hair color, hair style and eyes as Nagato.

Nagato walked over to the crumpled man, and spoke. "You asked him if he was ready to meet God." he said, slipping out another sharpened rod from his sleeve. "I'm here to tell you that I _am _God." As he finished, he threw the sharpened end at his neck, piercing it an ending his life quickly.

Naruto never took his eyes off of his sensei. The burning feeling was replaced by a more pleasant, warm feeling. His eyesight began to swim and become dark.

Barely holding onto consciousness, he watches Nagato walk over to him. Picking him up in his arms, Nagato remarks, "So the Nine-Tails lives on after all."

_'What does he mean by that?'_ was all Naruto could think as the blackness enveloped him entirely.

* * *

Dank and dark.

Those were the first thoughts that popped into Naruto's head as he slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was lying on his back in some sort of sewer, the only light coming from somewhere unseen. He stood up, noticing that his clothes were not wet from the sewer water, but dismissed the thought among the others roaming in his head.

Then he heard it; a low grumbling sound, faint, but still audible, coming from somewhere in the sewer. It stopped every few seconds or so, the interval between each one of the eerie sounds fluctuating at slow intervals.

_'What is that?'_ he thought, taking a step forward into the unknown. He strolled down several corridors, taking lefts and rights at random intersections. Or what at least appeared to be random. He couldn't quite explain it, but he knew where he was going; almost like he knew the place he was in but couldn't grasp the memory.

Meanwhile the grumbling became clearer and steadily louder the closer he seemed to get to it. He could tell what it was now; a low growl from some_thing_. He shuddered, wondering what the growl could be coming from.

On and on he walked. Down a passage. A left turn. A right. Going nowhere but somewhere at the same time. _'Why do I feel like I know this place so well?'_ he asked in his head.

After what felt like eternity, the passages all merged into one large tunnel. All the while the growling becoming louder. Naruto knew for sure now; the growling was coming from the other end of the tunnel.

Steeling his nerves inside him, he continued on his trek through the sewer. The light that lit up the sewer from some unknown source began to recede, leaving darkness in its wake as Naruto pressed on. Every time the growl would sound, Naruto would flinch in fear of something suddenly jumping out and grabbing him.

The light slowly came back as he neared a dead-end in the tunnel. I giant gate to what looked like a cage loomed high over him. A simple paper tag with "seal" written on it was the only thing keeping the gate shut. Naruto walked up to the cage. Whatever the growl was coming from, it was on the other side of that gate, which made Naruto feel somewhat better.

Pushing down his fear and bringing up his confidence, he called out, "Hello? Is anybody here?"

He tensed to listen. He strained his ears to hear, but nothing came back in response. Only absolute silence. Naruto looked up warily between the bars of the gate, and took some steps back. _'Silence,'_ he said in his head, _'What happened to the growling?'_

His danger senses went off like crazy. He jumped backwards just as a giant clawed paw struck out from between the bars and smashed the ground where he had stood a moment ago. Naruto looked at the arm cautiously, trying to judge whether of not it could reach any further than that. Realizing that it couldn't, he relaxed his stance, gazing in curious fear, wondering what the paw belonged to.

The paw retracted back into the darkness of the cage. _**"Who dares to disturb me?"**_

The voice made Naruto take a step away from the cage in fear. It was deep and menacing. _'Demonic.'_ Naruto thought in his head, then shook it, wondering where he had got that word from. "W-w-who are you?" he asked in a weak and fearful voice.

The thing bellowed a laugh. Naruto fell to the ground from the shaking and vibrations the evil laugh created. Once the laughing stopped, a pair of eyes appeared from behind the bars. Each were as round as the average circular table, the pupil a black vertical slit surrounded by a blood-red cornea. Then a set of white fangs appeared below them, forming a creepy and sinister smile in the darkness.

_**"Foolish mortal!"**_ the creäture said, its voice filling every space of the tunnel. It moved forward, and Naruto gasped in absolute fear at what he was witnessing. In front of him, behind the cage, was a giant orange fox, only it had nine huge tails sprouting where a normal tail should be. _**"I am the Nine-Tailed Fox, the great Kyubi!"**_ the fox roared, shaking the entire sewer as he said each word.

Naruto stood to his feet, the fear suddenly being pushed away. He could still feel it, but his curiosity was overpowering it. "Why are you here?" he paused. "And where is _here_ exactly?" Naruto asked the Fox.

The beast looked down at the blonde in front of him, confusion in its eyes. The it let out a boisterous laugh, which sounded more like a roar. _**"HAHAHA! Most people would run or cower at the sight of me, yet you do not!" **_The creäture then brought its head down to the boy's level so it can look him in the eye. _**"You have amused me mortal. You are different from most other humans, I can tell. So I will grant you the answer to your questions."**_

The Fox reared its head back up, and spoke down to the boy. _**"We are in your head, or more specifically your mindscape. You came here after you lost consciousness. At the moment, you are on the brink of death. My powers are the only thing keeping you from passing on."**_ the Fox told Naruto, its fox grin never leaving its face.

Naruto listened attentatively, taking in everything like a sponge to water. "I see. Well, seeing as that I'm still here and not at the doorstep of the Gods, then I can assume that I'm not dead yet. Besides, dying has never scared me all that much."

The fox chuckled. _**"I'm beginning to like you more and more boy. Anyways, you, for some reason, have high regenerative powers on your own. Coupled with my healing factor, you can survive several potential fatal blows. However, you can only take so much. Understand?"**_ it said to the blonde below him.

Naruto simply nodded his head. The fox then continued. _**"Good. As for why I am here in your head, I was sealed inside of you."**_

Naruto felt like he had taken a punch to the gut. He fell to his knees, trying to process this new information through his head. "You're i-inside of m-me?" he said shakily.

_**"Ah, finally, a reaction that most mortals would make at such a discovery."**_ the fox snickered, _**"Yes, I was sealed into you when you were a newborn." **_the fox said as if remembering an event that happened only yesterday.

Naruto fell on his ass as he tried to process all that he heard. "Everything makes sense now." he said in a whisper. Everything finally made sense to him. Why the villagers hated him. How it was not just coincidence that the Festival of Kyubi's death was on his birthday, or how he was born the same year and day the demon attacked.

The fox turned into what looked to be a hopeful look. **"**_**Why don't you take the seal off and free me from this cage. In return, I'll give you all of my power for you to harness."**_

Naruto stared at the fox with a blank expression, defiance in his eyes. "Sorry Kyubi, but I can't do that. I've heard the stories of you attacking the Leaf Village, but after meeting you, you don't seem to have the personality to just attack without a motive. My guess is that you were looking for something specific, you held a grudge, or you were being controlled."

The fox looked on at the boy with interest as he continued. "But that isn't the reason I won't just release you. We've only just met, and I'm not the kind of person to trust someone so easily, considering the life I've lived so far. Once you've earned my trust, then I'll consider it."

The fox furrowed its brows, but did not interrupt the blonde. "And besides," he said with a shrug, "if I were to release you now, I'm pretty sure my body wouldn't be able to take it, and I would probably be destroyed in the process. Like I said, not afraid of dying, but definitely NOT the way I want to die." he said, holding his gaze with the fox.

The fox looked amused, showing it as he let out a chuckle. _**"Impressive boy. You are smarter than you appear, and have gained my favor."**_ The beast then bent down to look at the boy in the eyes again._** "When the time is right, I will lend you my power again. And do not worry mortal... I'm sure we will meet again." **_it said, giving Naruto another fox grin.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you Kyubi. But... how do I get out of here?" Naruto asked the huge fox.

The fox looked taken aback, but Naruto couldn't understand why. Then the fox grin appeared on its face again, and it said, _**"It is official. I like you kit. I'll definitely be around sometime. As for how you'll get out of here..."**_ the fox sucked in a huge breath of air, then exhaled it in a stream at Naruto. The blonde was lifted off of the ground and sent flying away from the cage, back into the darkness of the sewer.

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter IV: The Discovery**


	5. Bloodline Chapter 4

**Chapter IV: The Discovery**

Naruto slowly felt himself coming back into consciousness. He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't respond. He was able to crack them open, and take in his bearings.

He was lying in his bed back inside the cabin. He strained to turn his head, his body sore and stiff, aching with the effort. A hand came and gently readjusted his head on his pillow, allowing him to sit up to a degree.

Konan was sitting at his bedside, worry clear on her face. "Naruto, how are you feeling?"

Naruto smiled, despite it hurting to do so. "I'm fine Konan, thank you."

Konan appeared to relax some, and gave her own genuine smile. "I was so worried about you. Nagato carried you in and we immidiately set you down and tried to patch you up."

Naruto then looked down at his body. His upper body under his arms was wrapped in bandages, through which he could feel the gauss where the worst of the damage must have been. He turned his attention back to Konan. "Where's sensei?"

"I'm right here Naruto."

Naruto looked at the doorway and saw his sensei there, leaning against the wall. Naruto smiled, relief filling his body. "I'm so glad you're okay sensei." he said through a few tears. "I thought you were dead."

Nagato's eyes did something that they didn't do often; show emotion, in this case, sadness. "I'm sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to worry you like that. So it's only fair that you know my secret."

Naruto took on a puzzled look, while Konan looked to her friend and said, "Are you sure Nagato?"

His response was a nod of the head. "Yes. Naruto fought that man thinking I was dead. He could have died himself. I have seen his level of trust and care for me so I will show him mine." He said, looking straight at Naruto when he finished.

The next part happened in a blur. Naruto blinked, and the room filled with five more people. They all had the Rain forehead protectors with horizontal slashes through the center, red-clouded robes on, orange hair, piercings, and rippled eyes. Naruto sat up in his bed, looking at each newcomer individually.

The first one his eyes set upon was the same guy he saw at the clearing with Nagato. His gaze shifted to the guy next to him, a tall, slender man with hair flowing down past his shoulders. He had two cheekbone piercings on either cheek, and a slanted piercing through the bridge of his nose.

The next figure his eyes fixed on was a woman; the only woman in the group with hair that tied into a bun at the back, with some of it hanging over her shoulder on her right side. She had two jaw piercings on both sides, one between her eyes, and two on her cheekbones that connected by a thinner piercing that went through the bridge of her nose.

He shifted his gaze again to the shortest of the group. He looked somewhat chubby, with hair slicked back into rows and held back by his headband. His piercings consisted of two needles coming out of either ear, two in the center of his nose, five fangs jutting out from below his bottom lip, and two cones poking out of both cheekbones.

Naruto looked upon the last man of the new guests. He was the most different out of all of them only because he was bald. He had a creepy smile on his face. He also had the largest piercings; two smaller ones on either cheekbone, a slender curved one going vertically down his nose, five cylinders jutting out of the top of his head, and a single, huge cylinder emerging from his chin.

Naruto looked back and forth between all of them. "Who are these people sensei?"

He answered back, "We are all different and the same." All six of the took turns saying each word coming back to Nagato, never skipping in a beat in the process. Nagato spoke again, "You see..." "We are all Nagato, yet not Nagato." they all said in unison.

Nagato spoke, confusion filling his voice. "Wait a minute, I don't understand..."

Nagato turned and headed out of the room. "Follow me." he called over his shoulder. The other five followed after him.

Naruto got to his feet slowly, and walked out of his room also. He walked over to the group following his sensei, and entered his room.

Nagato's room looked just like the one Naruto was in, except for the portrait to the one side of the room. This portrait had a boy who looked about as old as his sensei in his old portrait. The boy had straight, red hair that blocked one of his eyes, and a simple black robe. Naruto gasped when he saw the one eye that was visible; it had a purple ripple pattern, just like his sensei's.

_'Who is that guy?'_ Naruto thought. He didn't linger on the thought for too long though because his sensei had stopped in front of an extra wardrobe in the room. He opened the empty wardrobe, and slammed a hand against the wooden back. In response, the back receded to the side, revealing a hidden passage behind the wardrobe, a staircase leading down to somewhere. After a moment, Nagato walked in, and the other look-alikes followed suit.

Naruto just stared at the hidden entrance. "What is going on here?" he said to himself as he followed after the group. He walked down the long flight of stairs, coming to a stop at another dead-end with a metal door with no handle or knob to open it.

Nagato extended his hand and said, **"Universal Pull."** The door swung open towards them, revealing a small room that looked exactly like the one upstairs, except with multiple beds instead of one. In the center of the room against the wall was a man inside of a quadruped mechanism. Naruto recognized the man instantly; he was the guy from the portrait in his sensei's room.

"Hello Naruto." the man said to him, a smile on his face. "I am the real Nagato."

* * *

"I see. So, you use your Rinnegan to control Yahiko's body and the others at will all at the same time?" Naruto asked Nagato.

The real Nagato had told him his story about growing up, discovering his dojutsu and what it could do, and finding Yahiko and Konan at a young age, and how they all lived together to survive. He also told about after his ninja training, and the forming of a special group that was formed to bring peace to the world. He went into detail about his best friend Yahiko, how he died, and how he became his first body in what he called the "Six Paths of Pain".

Nagato nodded. "That's the gist of it." He paused a moment, a serious look on his face. "Listen Naruto. I don't expect you to trust me. I don't expect you to forgive me for hiding the truth from you for so long. I can only ask for your forgiveness. I've grown close to you over these past few months, and I can honestly say that I think of you as family." he said, a smile spreading on his face as he spoke.

Naruto gave a foxy grin. "No problem sensei! I know what it's like to not trust anyone, but I trust you fully!"

Nagato smiled genuinely. "Thank you Naruto. How about we get back to your training, hm? You still have a long way to go." he said with a chuckle.

Naruto pumped a fist into the air. "Alright! I'm ready when you are Nagato-sensei!"

"There's just one thing..." he said, smiling sheepishly. "Since I'm a paraplegic, I'll have to use Yahiko's body to continue to train you."

Naruto didn't lose any heart. "That's alright! I'm used to him anyways. Now let's go!"

Nagato nodded. "Right." Naruto bolted for the stairs back up to the cabin, Nagato's Deva Path right behind him.

_*****One Month Later*****_

"Well done Naruto. You have completed your chakra control training. I'd say you have moderate genin chakra control, which is nowhere near where I'd hope you would be, but good none-the-less." Nagato's Deva Path told the blonde boy lying on the ground in front of him.

Naruto let out a tired sigh of victory. "Awesome sensei. What's next?"

Deva smirked. "My favorite part; the Jutsu training. In this part, we'll work on your Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. I was thinking we could start today, but you look tired. Maybe we should start tomorrow..." he said, knowing his student all too well.

Naruto practically flew up off the ground and stood in front of his sensei, at attention. "Ready to train sensei!"

Deva chuckled. "Always enthusiastic. Well, before we begin, I would like to try an... experiment... if you will." he said taking a few steps back away from Naruto.

Naruto looked at him quizzically. "Experiment?" he asked, not understanding what his sensei was getting at.

Deva nodded. "Yes. I am going to attack you with a very low powered Ninjutsu. I want you to hold up your hands to intercept the jutsu. Understand?"

Naruto didn't see how this would work, but nodded anyways. Deva made a single handseal and a small blob of water formed in his hand, which he threw at Naruto. Naruto did as told and moved his hands to intercept the projectile, only for it to hit his hand and splatter all over him, soaking him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "What's the big idea!?" He shot a very annoyed look at his sensei.

Deva just smiled and said, "Patience Naruto. That was just the first part. I need you to do it one more time, if you please." Naruto kept his scowl, but didn't object.

Deva once again made a single handseal and shot a small ball of fire out of his mouth at Naruto. The blonde did as told again and placed his hand out to where it would intercept the fireball. As the ball of fire was about to come into contact with the skin of his palm, it disappeared into thin air, sucked into Naruto's palm.

Naruto widened his eyes in shock. He looked over at his sensei who had a look of victory on his face. "Well Naruto, I think that my experiment was a success. We'll begin your training tomorrow then." he said walking off towards the cabin.

Naruto yelled after him. "Hey wait a minute! I thought we were going to begin my training!"

Deva turned back around a smiled at his student. "Come Naruto, we have much to discuss. I'm sure you'd love to learn about your bloodline..." he said turning back around and walking off.

Naruto froze in his tracks. _'Wait a minute... Did he say bloodline!?'_ Naruto thought excitedly. "Nagato-sensei, wait up! Tell me more about my bloodline!" he yelled, running after his sensei.

_*****Two Months Later*****_

"Well Naruto, you did it. You completed your Jutsu training. I couldn't be any more proud of you than I am now." Deva said with a smile on his face.

Naruto huffed through tired gasps of air. "Thank... you...Nagato... -sensei..."

Deva's face saddened. "Now that your trainings over, I guess you'll be returning to the Leaf Village, won't you?"

Naruto sat up, a sad look also on his face. "Yeah.. I guess so."

Deva walked over and helped him up. "Well then, let's get back to the cabin and get you ready for your big return then." Nagato said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back, then pumped a fist into the air. "Okay!"

The next day, Naruto woke up bright and early for his trip and waited outside of the cabin to tell Nagato's Deva Path and Konan goodbye, both of whom were standing at the door.

"I guess this is goodbye for now. I hope I can see you guys again some time in the near future." Naruto told his first and true friends outside of the village.

Deva just nodded while Konan shed a tear. "We're going to miss you." she said.

"It'll definitely be different without you around." his sensei said after her. "I wish I could tell you goodbye face-to-face."

Naruto waved it off with his hand, "It's no biggie. I know that you care." He walked over to the two and gave them both a hug. "I'll miss you guys so much." he said to the both of them.

When he released their hugs, he turned, about to dash off.

"Naruto."

He turned back around to look at his sensei for the last time. Deva was smiling, pride and joy in his eyes. "Good luck."

Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "Believe it sensei! I'll become one of the greatest ninja ever known! Just you wait!" And with that, he took off towards the Leaf Village. And didn't even look back.

* * *

The green gate of the Leaf Village stood wide open for anyone coming to and from the village. At the side of the gate sat a small guard outpost, where two people were sitting, one reclining and the other sitting regularly.

"Man, why do we always get the boring jobs, Izumo?" the spiky black-haired ninja spoke to his accomplice. He had tan skin with a bandage wrapping across his nose and around his head. He wore the standard chunin vest.

"Kotetsu, this is one of the most important jobs in the village!" the ninja named Izumo answered. He had brown hair, one side coming down over one of his eyes. He also wore a standard chunin vest. "Lord Hokage gave us the important task of guarding the gate. We are technically the last line of defence for the village."

Kotetsu shrugged. "Fine, fine, I just wish it wasn't so boring."

Izumo sighed. "You think every little task we do... is... boring..." He trailed off when he noticed someone walking through the gates. The stranger had a simple black cloak wrapped around him that hid all of his features.

Kotetsu stood up. "Halt! State your business and show us your papers!"

The stranger looked up some to show his face. Both chunin gasped when they saw the man's face. The figure gave a fox grin, then leapt off to the Hokage Tower.

Kotetsu called after him. "Hey! Get back here! You didn't show us your papers!"

"Uh, Kotetsu, they are right here." Izumo told his partner.

"Huh?" Kotetsu walked over to Izumo, who was looking down at a sheet of paper that gave clearance into the village to a certain person. Kotetsu cracked a smile. "So, he's finally back, huh?"

* * *

At the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen was doing paperwork, grumbling about how annoying said paperwork was. Deciding he should take a rest, he stopped, pulled his hat over his eyes, and fell asleep.

The stranger appeared on the balcony of the Hokage's office moments later. He gave another foxy grin when he saw that the Kage was currently snoozing. He disappeared from the balcony in a blur.

Hiruzen opened his eyes immediately. He sat up in his chair, alert. He scanned the room for anything out-of-place. When he found nothing, he relaxed back into his chair, and closed his eyes again.

Hiruzen sensed something right in front of him. Opening his eyes, his gaze met a pair of cerulean blue eyes staring right back at him. "HI OLD MAN!"

"Gah!" Hiruzen cried out, falling back in his chair. He sat there on the ground for a moment, trying to slow his heart. He looked up at the person that gave him such a scare. He instantly broke into a smile at who he saw. "Naruto!"

The blonde was laughing so hard he was crying. "Hey old man! I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I hope you can forgive me."

The Third waved him off with his hand as he stood and sat back down in his chair. "Of course, of course, I know you meant no harm. It's good to see you again." he said with a warm smile.

Naruto grew his big cheesy smile. "Likewise! So how have you been?"

The Hokage sighed. "Honestly, it's been rather boring here without you around. I for one am happy that you are back." he said truthfully.

Naruto smiled his fake smile, but didn't close his eyes to make his mask complete. "Well, at least someone missed me." he said, sadness filling his eyes.

The old kage was nearly brought to tears. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure there were others that missed you as well." His face hardened, becoming serious. "Anyways, I would like to hear a report on your training. Since you will be giving reports as a ninja once you graduate, this is good practice."

Naruto straightened out and stood upright. "My training went smoothly and excellently. As I have told you already, I cannot tell you the name of my sensei for certain reasons, but according to him, I am at chunin level strength, speed, and endurance, genin level chakra control, and chunin level in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. I am sorry to say that I am unable to do any Genjutsu for some reason. I do not have any problems dispelling it however."

"I will also note that while away I discovered that I have a bloodline. According to my sensei, it is a rare bloodline found only in a few that can absorb elemental chakra and meld it into my DNA, giving me that elemental affinity to use. It's only a one time use, however, but once the element is acquired, it cannot be taken away."

"I would also like to report that I had a chance to meet the Nine-tails sealed within me. He does not seem to be the blood-thirsty killing monster depicted by many of the people. Of course, he could just be trying to lower my guard and escape."

"Report finished, sir." Naruto said and gave the Hokage a look that practically screamed 'I better get an explanation for why I have a giant-ass demon fox sealed inside of me.'

Hiruzen let out a long sigh, stood from his chair and walked over to the boy until they were a few feet from one another. Then the Hokage got on his knees in the bowing position and pleaded. "I'm so sorry Naruto for not telling you. It was supposed to be a secret so that the villagers would treat you normally."

"Uhhh..."Naruto said dumbly as he tried to make sense of what was happening at the moment.

"It failed however, so I placed a law forbidding anyone from mentioning it to you for fear of death." The Kage looked up with tears in his old eyes. "I only wanted to protect you. So please, I beg for your forgiveness and mercy."

"Uh, old man, you don't have to bow down to me. All I wanted was an explanation..." Naruto said, scratching his cheek awkwardly.

"Thank you Naruto." Sarutobi said as he stood up and wiped his face. "Please forgive me again, but I can't tell you any details about the sealing. Not yet, anyways. I'll tell you when you are ready."

Naruto pouted some, but relented and accepted. "You better keep your word old man."

Sarutobi nodded seriously, then cleared his throat. "Well, as for your bloodline, that is very peculiar, I've never heard of anything like it. I recall a few people from back in my day that were able to use multiple affinities with ease. Maybe they had a bloodline similar to yours." Hiruzen said with a sage-like appearance.

"And as for your training, that is quite impressive." he began. "I have no doubt that you will pass this term's Genin Exams for certain. Which reminds me..." he said, pulling out a form that was mostly filled out already. "Here is your registration form for the next term. And I must say you made it back just in the knick of time; the academy starts back up tomorrow."

Naruto face-palmed. "Oh crap! I completely forgot about the academy! I need to hurry and get there now and enroll!" he said, running out of the office and heading in the direction of the academy.

Hiruzen chuckled to himself, taking a huff off of his pipe. "That boy... things can finally go back to normal." he said with a smile, tuning back to his arch nemesis, paperwork.

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter V: Academy Days**


	6. Bloodline Chapter 5

**Chapter V: Academy Days**

Naruto was on his way to the academy, walking with his hands in his orange jacket, looking nonchalant about being back in the village for the first time in half a year.

Of course, the village had not changed much; a new building on the end of one of the streets, a few new faces, but that was it. The academy had not changed at all when he turned in his registration form the day before.

Thinking about the academy brought back to his memory the event that unfolded yesterday afternoon. apparently, there were several that were highly against him coming back to the academy. They even threatened to have him arrested if he continued to ask; that is, until he showed them his registration form with the Hokage's signature on it.

The memory saddened him. Even though so much time had passed, the village still hated him. He shook his head trying to get the depressing remembrances out of his mind. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice he was just outside the academy doors until now.

Naruto took a deep breath to steel himself. "Alright. Here goes nothing." he said to himself. And with that, he pushed open the door to the Leaf Village Ninja Academy and headed to the classroom he was assigned beforehand.

Naruto walked inside the classroom, and took in all the faces and features. There were a few that stood out to him. His eyes snapped to the second loudest color in the room besides his orange attire; cherry blossom pink hair, tied by a red bow. The girl wore a fancy red civilian garb, close to a gown. Her lime green eyes were swooning over a raven-headed boy, his eyes solid black, wearing a blue t-shirt with a paper fan etched on the back. His hands clasped together loosely in front of his mouth, like he was annoyed by all the attention he was getting from just about every girl in the room.

Naruto's eyes drifted around the room, seeing a few more that stood out. His eyes settled upon an open chair between two kids. The one on the right wore a jacket that didn't even go down past his stomach, unzipped, revealing the mesh t-shirt he wore underneath. His short black hair tied back behind his head into a spike-tail, resembling a pineapple. He just slumped in his chair onto his desk, looking bored and unhappy.

The other on the left appeared to be reclusive; the only skin showing was the upper half of his face and head, his mouth down enveloped by the upturned collar of a baggy jacket and long pants. His hair was brown, short, and frizzled, but it looked like it was supposed to be that way. His only other noticable feature were his midnight-black glasses hiding his eyes.

_'That's where I'll sit.'_ he thought to himself, already walking over to his predetermined seat. He sat down, and turned to the pineapple-headed kid, a friendly smile on his face. "Hey, my name's Naruto."

The bored student looked sideways at him, stifled a yawn, and replied. "Name's Shikamaru."

Naruto nodded, then turned to face the other boy on his right. "Hey, I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you!" he said extending his hand to the coat wearer.

The boy turned his body to look at Naruto, and extended his hand to greet Naruto. "Greetings. I am Shino. And likewise."

Shino released their handshake. "Are you new here in the village? I don't recall seeing you in the academy last year."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well I kind of took last term off for special reasons. I was in the academy the earlier term for the Genin Exams, but I failed my first time." he said, putting on his facial mask to hide the sadness clear in his eyes.

Shino nodded, but Shikamaru spoke next. "If you took the exam more than six months ago, that means you would have had to start the academy at least a year before us. How old are you exactly? You don't look older than any of us in here."

Naruto turned to him. "Well, you are correct on both assumptions. Yes, I started the academy a full year ahead of you, and yes, I am in your age group. In fact, I'm probably older than only a few in here."

Shikamaru looked at him skeptically. "How come they let you into the academy so early on? Sounds troublesome to me."

Naruto chuckled, but his face showed anything but happiness. His eyes looked dreary as he spoke. "Well, you see, I've been an orphan for as long I can remember. Without a family to help support myself, I was introduced to the academy earlier than most so I can become a ninja and support myself. The Hokage gave me an apartment and a monthly income until I graduate. Although I'd be lucky if the villagers didn't take my money first."

When he finished he looked back at Shikamaru. He couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he looked a little saddened by Naruto's short story. He didn't say anything, but Shino voiced himself. "Naruto, may I ask why the villagers would steal money from someone, a kid no less?"

Naruto tensed a little. He now knew the reason the villagers had always hated him, beat him, mocked him, feared him; it was because of the fox demon Kyubi sealed within him. And the villagers only saw the demon, not the person who held him.

He was about to fumble an asnwer to the kid, but was interrupted by the emergence of a man wearing a standard chunin vest in the room.

"Alright you kids, quiet down." His voice was calm yet authoritative. "I'm going to call out the roll. I want you to say either 'here' or 'present'. understand? Good. First on the list is..." the man called out several names, all being answered or responded to with a short "here" or "present", just like he asked.

"Shino Aburame." the man called out evenly, nearing the end of the list. Shino called out a short "present" before the man moved on to the next name.

"Choji Akimichi." A large boy eating a bag of chips next to Shikamaru raised a hand into the air, saying "here" through a mouthful of food.

"Sakura Haruno." the man called. The pinkette averted her gaze from the raven and raised her hand, let her presence be known, and quickly took back to gazing fondly at the same boy.

Naruto sighed inwardly. _'Fan girls...'_ The man called out the next name. "Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto looked at the opposite side of the room where a girl had raised her hand timidly, and said a quiet "present". The girl wore a large beige fur coat, definitely bigger than her figure probably, and knee-length indigo pants. Like her pants, her short hair was also indigo, with two bangs falling beside her face on either side. Her skin was fair, and when Naruto looked at her eyes, perfectly round spheres that appeared a light lavender with no pupil, he thought for a moment that she might be blind. He dismissed the idea quickly though. _'She must have special eyes like Nagato-sensei.'_ he thought to himself.

"Kiba Inuzuka." the chunin continued. The boy with very feral features raised his hand and shouted "here" from the back of the room. He had a grey coat on, lined with fur at the hood, short, brown, spiky hair, small fangs, claws, and fang markings on his cheeks. To top it all off, he had a little white dog sitting atop of his head, wagging its tail back and forth excitedly.

"Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru lifted his head off of the desk and gave a sleepy mumble as an acknowledgement to his name being called before laying his head back down on his desk.

"Sasuke Uchiha." The raven-boy raised his hand in the air, a brooding scowl on his face. He put it back down without saying a word, back into his original position.

"Ino Yamanaka." A long-haired blonde wearing a purple skirt and top said a quick "here" and returned to looking at Sasuke. Naruto deadpanned. _'Great. Another fangirl...'_ he thought.

The man shifted his eyes back to the list. "Okay, and the last name is..." he stopped short, anger flashing in his eyes for a moment, then he jerked his head toward Naruto, his stare appearing to shoot daggers at him. Through clenched teeth, he mouthed, "Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto said "here." but sighed inwardly. _'Looks like I have one of __those__ teachers...'_ he thought with sadness. He already knew that he probably wouldn't learn much this term, and would be kicked out of class more than he stayed in it.

The man composed himself, but he sounded forceful with his words. "Okay then class, now that I know all of you, it's my turn. My name is..." and at that point, Naruto quit listening. He was still dreading over the fact that he would have a hard term this time around. He stole glances at both of the people beside him, each looking at him with questioning gazes (or as questionable a gaze as Shino can give). He knew they had probably noticed the man's hostility toward him. _'Heh, looks like I picked the two smartest and most perceptive people to be as my first friends.'_ Naruto thought happily. He decided to listen back in to his new teacher's ranting. "...Now that we have gone over what we will be learning this year, how about a quiz? Who can tell me what normal clones are typically made from?"

Nobody raised their hands. Naruto showed a slight smirk, and whispered to his two new friends, "Chakra." before shooting his hand into the air. The teacher shot a glare at him, daring him to answer before saying a harsh "What?"

Naruto lowered his hand a crossed his arms indignantly, a smirk wide on his face. "Clones are made from a small piece of our own self, like blood or tissue."

The entire room fell silent. After a moment, the man's head practically exploded off of his head in anger. "NO, THAT IS COMPLETELY WRONG! CLONES ARE MADE FROM CHAKRA IDIOT! NOW GET OUT OF THIS CLASS BEFORE YOU DISRUPT IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER IDIOTIC ANSWER!" the man half yelled, half screamed at the blonde boy.

Naruto didn't even seem fazed at all by the man's insults. Nor by the jeers coming from kids behind him. He heard several different outbursts.

"Wow, what an idiot." one boy said.

"How could you say something so stupid?" a girl asked mockingly.

"Hey, isn't he the one that failed the genin exam his first time?" someone in the back asked.

"No wonder he failed!" the first boy responded. The class quickly broke out into mock laughter.

Naruto closed his eyes. Being reminded of his first attempt at the genin exams brought the sadness flowing back into him. The man yelled again. "Didn't you hear me!? I said _get out_!" he shouted at Naruto. Naruto opened his eyes again, stood up, and walked down the aisle to the door of the classroom. He took one last look at the kids in the classroom.

Out of all of them, only four weren't laughing at him. One was the Sasuke kid, who just sat there, still brooding. Two of them were his new friends Shikamaru and Shino. Shikamaru looked at him quizzically, no doubt wondering why he had stated the wrong answer when he had told them the correct one. And judging by Shino's quirked eyebrow, he was wondering the same thing. The last person that was not laughing in Naruto's face was the quiet girl from earlier. _'Hinata.'_ he remembered. She had a sad look in her eyes, her gaze looking down to her lap.

Naruto stopped for a moment, looking at her. _'I wonder why she looks so sad.'_ he thought as he resumed his walk and exited the classroom, deciding it would be best just to come back tomorrow, and hopefully things would be better.

_*****Five Months Later*****_

Unfortunately, things did not get better. The teacher kicked him out of class every day, even for the most trivial things, like accidentally bumping into someone, or asking a simple question. His teacher also made it a personal goal, at least to Naruto, to sabotage his tests and in-school practices. The only thing keeping him with a passing grade in the academy was his good behavior and participation grades; when he wasn't accused of something and could take part that is.

The only good thing that came out of the academy was him achieving several more friends. Along with his closest friends Shikamaru and Shino, he became good friends with Choji, a really close friend to Shikamaru, and acquaintances with Kiba and Hinata.

He was walking down the streets of the Leaf Village after another day of being sent out of class, much to his displeasure. How was he expected to pass when his teachers kept throwing him out of class?

He shook his head to clear it. He needed to distract himself from any more thinking. _'I know!'_ he thought to himself a smile widening on his face, _'I'll go see old man Teuchi and Ayame at Ichiraku's!'_ With a destination in mind, he set off to find his favorite eating spot.

He walked down the roads of the village toward his destination, determined to make it there in the next few minutes, when suddenly...

"Hey Naruto!"

The blonde turned to see his two friends Choji and Shikamaru roaming the roads of the Leaf as well. Shikamaru looked as bored as ever, and chojni still held a bag of chips in his hand munching away. Naruto waved them over, and over they came.

"Hey guys!" he said with his usual friendliness. "What's up?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Nothing. Just walking around the village. There were no clouds out today, so we decided to do something else."

Naruto nodded at his friend's statement. He himself often went and watched clouds go by with Shikamaru. It reminded him of the peacefulness of nature, something his sensei had left as a lasting mark on him.

"What about you?" Choji asked through a mouthful of chips.

The blonde grinned. "Just stopping at Ichiraku's to get something to eat. You guys want to come?"

Shikamaru shrugged, and Choji eyes beamed. "Sure./YES!" they both responded at the same time.

"Hello Naruto, Choji, Shikamaru." a voice said from behind Naruto.

He smiled, knowing all too well who it was. He turned around to see his last friend. "Hey Shino, what are you doing?"

The Aburame inclined his head. "Just walking around the village. You have no idea how utterly frustrating it is to be held inside of that compound for so long. I am gleeful that I can be excused for a time."

Naruto chuckled some more. Shino didn't have many friends because of his odd vocabulary that most people wouldn't understand. Luckily, Naruto wasn't most people. _'Being with Nagato and Konan for a while has it's benefits.'_ he thought in his mind. "That's cool! Hey, we were just about to go eat at Ichiraku's. Wanna come with?"

Shino nodded. "That sounds most excellent."

Naruto pumped a fist in the air. "All right then, let's go!" All of them started to walk down the roads of The Leaf once again to their desired restaurant.

As the four walked through the streets, several villagers kept shooting them hateful and fearful looks, most averting to the sides as they walked. Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji, what they were staring at. Then all of them had the same realization. They weren't avoiding _them_; they were avoiding _Naruto_.

"Um... Naruto?" Choji called.

The blonde turned his head, still walking, looking questioningly at his friend, who had an uncomfortable look on his face. "Yeah Choji? What's up?"

Choji didn't look him in the eye. He kept his gaze on the villagers around them. "Um... why are they staring at you like that?"

Naruto looked at his other two friends, who looked back at him with their own questioning gazes, obviously thinking the same thing. Then he turned his attention to the villagers around him, realizing for the first time that they were staring at him with their usual hate and fear.

He sighed, his eyes growing sad, not caring that he didn't even put up his mask. "It's really complicated. I'll tell you guys one day, but I don't think I'm ready to talk to anyone about it yet.." he looked back at the three.

All of them looked concerned for their friend, but nodded in response. Choji looked up ahead at the road. "Hey look!" he shouted, "We're here!"

Sure enough, Ichiraku's was right in front of them. The sadness leaving Naruto, replaced by a smile and hunger, they all entered the restaurant.

The place was not too big, but was still large enough to fit at least eight people on the bar stools that lined the single counter to the small ramen stand. They all took seats at the counter, while Naruto called out, "Hey! Old Man! Ayame!"

A young woman wearing a cooking apron and waitress bandanna came out from the back of the restaurant. She had flawless skin, and her brunette hair was accented by her dark drown eyes. She broke into a smile when she saw who had called her. "Naruto!" Ayame gleefully shouted.

Naruto waved at her. "Hey Ayame! These are my friends: Choji, Shino, and Shikamaru." He gestured with a hand to each one of his friends, all of whom nodded at the mentioning of their names. Naruto turned back to the cook/waitress. "So where's the old man?"

As if on cue, an older man also came out of the back, hefting a box cooking supplies in his arms. He looked over the box at the people seated in the stand. He also broke into a smile at who he saw. "Well I'll be, Naruto! Good to see you! Who are your friends?"

Naruto chuckled. "Hey old man Teuchi! This is Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji." he said, once again gesturing to each friend.

Teuchi gave a hearty laugh. "Well, any friend of Naruto's is welcome here at Ichiraku Ramen. In fact, the first bowl is on the house for all of you!"

Shino and Shikamaru looked mildly surprised by the man's suggestion, but Choji beamed with stars in his eyes. "Seriously!?" he said, practically drooling.

Teuchi nodded. "Of course. What would you all like?"

Shikamaru and Shino both ordered the miso pork ramen, and Choji the beef and miso pork. Teuchi then turned to his best customer. "Okay Naruto, how many you want?"

Naruto smirked, folding his arms. "Three beef miso pork and four miso pork!"

His friends all gawked at him. But Teuchi just laughed. "Alright, the regular it is then!" and with that, he turned to the grill and set to work cooking all of the ramen.

Naruto whistled a tune on his lips, turning to look at his friends, who were still gawking at him like he had an infectious disease. He stopped his whistling and looked at his friends with an eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Uh, Naruto," Shikamaru started, "the only person I've ever see eat that much is Choji. Are you sure you can eat that much?" As a response, Naruto, Ayame, and Teuchi all laughed, with Naruto actually falling off the stool.

He stood himself up, trying to catch his breath. "Sorry Shikamaru... Too funny... Didn't you... hear Teuchi?.. This is regular... for me..."

Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji all shared a look, then all three shrugged, and the group turned their attention back to Teuchi, who had begun to place bowls of ramen in front of them; one for all three new customers and seven for Naruto.

All of them gave a silent blessing and dug in. Shino unbuttoned his collar and put food through the opening, his face still obscured from view on the sides. Shikamaru ate his like he did everything he did; lazily. Choji almost literally inhaled his ramen. Shikamaru paused, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "Hey.. Naruto."

All three stopped eating for a moment and looked at him. The pineapple head looked at the blonde, then to his already finished four bowls and half empty fifth, then back to him. "This has been really bugging me. You remember the first day of this term? And how you told us the right answer to that first quiz question?"

Shino and Naruto nodded, recalling the event. Choji looked absolutely lost. "Hold on, I thought Naruto said the wrong answer."

"He did," Shikamaru elaborated, "but he told me and Shino the correct answer before he blabbed the wrong one. Which brings me to my point; why are you holding back? And just how strong and smart are you really?"

All three looked at the blonde clad in orange for an answer. Naruto sighed. "Well, I guess I can tell you guys since you are all my closest and only friends." He turned to face him after he finished the remaining contents of his fifth bowl in two seconds.

"Alright," he began, "you all remember how I told you that I was away from the village and couldn't attend the academy last term for special reasons?" He received nods from the three, and continued, "Well... I was away doing special training with a man I met outside the village who decided to take me on as an apprentice. He instructed me with a lot of discipline and perseverance, taught me to control myself and look at every angle of a situation, and how to defend myself through various means."

He continued in his monologue. "He trained me in three different aspects: fitness, chakra control, and jutsu. According to what he has told me, I have chunin strength, speed, and endurance, poor chakra control, but the chakra reserves of a jonin, and chunin level taijutsu and ninjutsu. The only aspect that is almost non-existent is my genjutsu abilities." he finished with a shrug.

He looked at his three friends. All had their mouths slightly ajar, aside from Shino, but he could tell that he was just as shocked as the rest. Even Ayame and Teuchi had stopped what they were doing and were in stunned silence at what they had just heard.

"Wow." was all Choji could say. The listeners to Naruto's little story all nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru closed his mouth finally. "So why are you holding back so much?"

Naruto shrugged, a grin breaking out on his face. "I thought it would be ironic to have the 'dead last' turn out to be one of the best graduates of the exams, don't you agree?" he asked his friends. They all took on contemplative looks, trying to make sense of his logic.

Naruto just shrugged them off, finished his remaining two bowls in less than ten seconds, and plopped some money on the counter. "Thanks for the food old man!" He turned to his friends. "See you guys tomorrow!" and with that he left the stand.

Shikamaru leaned back away from the counter, a smirk on his face. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but if he had some more strategizing skill, I'd call him a Nara."

Shino nodded. "Agreed. I for one am happy that we are his friends and he trusts us. He will definitely become a force to be reckoned with in the future."

Choji nodded as well. "Amen to that." They all lapsed into silence as they ate the rest of their free food, thinking about the mysterious enigma that was their friend, Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter VI: Preparations**


	7. Bloodline Chapter 6

**Chapter VI: Preparations**

_'Just two more days!'_ Naruto thought to himself as he sat beneath a large tree in the park. It was early in the morning, and his mind was already racing, thinking about how his academy semester was finally going to end. He would take the Genin Exams, become a powerful ninja, become Hokage, and follow in the footsteps of his sensei.

Thinking about him, he recalls how he first wanted to follow his sensei's dreams and passions.

FLASHBACK

_Naruto is sitting under a tree in the forest with Nagato's Deva Path, both letting their eyes roam the peaceful environment in front of them, soaking it in._

_"Hey sensei?" Naruto called from the ground beside his sensei's slumped body against the tree. _

_The orange-haired man glanced down. "Yeah Naruto?"_

_"Well, I've been thinking..." he began, "About your dream to bring world peace and stuff to the entire world. I mean, that's a really big place. Are you sure you can do it?"_

_Deva smiled down at him. "Naruto, do you remember when I told you that my dream is an extension of my sensei and friend?" The blonde nodded, and Deva continued. "Well, I've seen a lot happen over my time as a ninja and person. While my sensei and friend believed peace could be achieved through hard work and dedication, I discovered my peace through pain, so I think that maybe if the entire world feels pain, they will appreciate peace, instead of waging these pointless wars."_

_Naruto frowned at his sensei. "Forgive me sensei, but I don't think that's right. I agree with your sensei and friend!" he said, smiling as he finished._

_Deva chuckled. "Well, hopefully I can do it their way, and if I can't... Then I want you to carry on our dreams..." he said standing up from his place against the tree, walking towards the cabin._

FLASHBACK END

Naruto stood, and balled his fist up before raising into the air, pointed at the sky. _'Don't worry sensei; I'll make both of our dreams come true.' _he thought. Filled with a new air of confidence, he left the park to go and attempt to another day of class before he would inevitably be put out of.

Naruto strode into the classroom with a blank face. It wasn't that he didn't like coming to the academy, just the fact that almost everyone, including the teachers, made it a personal goal to ruin his day. He was only preparing himself for what was to come.

Not even a second after he walked in, his teacher began to yell at him. "Naruto! Don't cause any trouble today or you'll be sent out of class... _Again!_" he yelled.

Naruto's just ignored him; this happened every day. He just walked past the fuming man and toward his seat.

He took in all the people of the room. His friends, Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji, all sitting together with a seat left open for him. Kiba sitting in the back, playing with Akamaru his dog. Hinata staring into her lap, oblivious to anything and everything in the room. Sasuke being crowded by tons of girls, Sakura and Ino among them. Several other faces he didn't care to memorize or learn.

He took his seat next to Shikamaru and Shino, giving his three friends a short and warm greeting.

"So," he asked all three of his friends, "you guys ready for the Genin Exams?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Seems rather troublesome. I'd rather not have to deal with it, but I don't really have a choice in the matter."

Shino nodded. "Yes, I am quite ready for the upcoming exams. I am confident that I will graduate with relative ease."

Choji looked a little worried, but said, "Yeah! You bet!"

Naruto nodded, just as the teacher entered the classroom. "Alright boys and girls, the Genin Exams are going to take place in just two days. I cannot explain how the exams will work; you will find that out the day of. Also, we will not be your examiners. You will have two entirely different chunin teachers overlooking your exam, to not show favoritism."

He cleared his throat. "Now, that being said, we will be going over the basics for the exam as a refresher." He pointed a finger at Naruto. "First up, Naruto!" he said with an annoyed tone.

Said blonde sighed deeply. _'Will this guy ever give me a break?' _he thought. He stood up and walked to the front of the class, his face betraying no emotion.

The man kept up his annoyed speech. "Alright, do a **Clone** **Jutsu**."

Naruto closed his eyes, concentrating on performing the regular technique and not the more powerful version. He yelled out, **"Clone Jutsu!"** and in a puff of smoke came a sick and pale clone, lying on the ground in a heap.

"IDIOT!" the man yelled at him, "All of this time, and _still_ can't make a decent clone?! Just get out of here!"

Naruto sighed. He turned towards the door, ignoring the jeers and taunts made from the other students in the class that weren't his friends.

_*****Two Days Later*****_

The day after being sent out of class yet again, Naruto didn't even bother showing up for class that day. He knew that they would just pick him to do a jutsu they thought he couldn't do, he'd screw up on purpose, and they would kick him out. The urge to actually show them his true potential was almost too much for him to contain. _'Although he's right about the **Clone Jutsu**. I suck at clones.' _he thought. _'I'll have to talk to the old man to see if he can bend the rules a little because of my tenant.'_

He smiled as he stopped in front of the academy doors. The Genin Exams-the last day of his academy days-was today. He would pass the Genin Exams, and move on with his life. Feeling a new air of confidence, he pushed open the doors, and took off straight to his classroom.

Inside the classroom was everyone from two days ago, minus his teacher who he never bothered to learn the name of and plus two new chunin faces. The first he recognized as Iruka Umino; the only teacher that actually was nice to him in the academy. The chunin was darker complected, his hair light brown and tied in a shirt tail just above the back of his Leaf forehead protector. A thin scar stretched itself horizontally across his nose.

The second chunin he knew as Mizuki, Iruka's instructing partner, who Naruto never had for a sensei. The chunin had pale skin, shoulder-length silver hair, and a bandanna style forehead protector. The blonde hurried to his seat next to Shino and Shikamaru.

"Hello Naruto." Shino asked

"Hey Naruto." he heard Shikamaru ask him in his usual laid back tone of voice.

Naruto nodded his head to both, and took his seat. As Iruka talked, he wondered on how he would go through with the exam if he couldn't do the **Clone Jutsu**.

"Hello class. I am Iruka Umino and this is Mizuki. We will be your instructors for the this term's Genin Exams. These exams are based on how well you perform to the basic ninja standards. This year, like last year, is different. Graduation is based on one of the two main combat aspects of the ninja, taijutsu or ninjutsu. Since last year's test was on taijutsu, this year's is ninjutsu, which you will be performing the basic ninjutsu for genin, The** Transformation**,** Substitution**, and **Clone Jutsu**."

Naruto felt his chances of showing everyone up slip from his grasp as he heard the last jutsu called out. He shrunk into his seat, thinking even harder about how he would miraculously pass this year's exam.

"In the way that the tests will work," Iruka continued, "you will be called into the classroom one by one to be judged by Mizuki and myself on the aforementioned jutsu. Once you have been tested, you are free to leave. If you pass, be back here in a weeks time. Now please leave the classroom and we'll call you in one by one."

All of the students got up from their seats, and filed in a line out of the class and into the hall. Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino all stood on the wall opposite of the classroom.

The first name was called, and a boy that Naruto didn't know stepped inside. This continued for about a half hour or so, until all that was left to be called were Naruto and his friends, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Kiba, and Hinata.

The last boy to go in stepped out of the class. "Hey Shino, they want you."

The coat-wearer nodded. "I shall return momentarily." he said to his friends, walking into the classroom and shutting the door behind him. Less than a minute later, he came out with a Leaf forehead protector wrapped around his forehead. "Kiba, you're next." he said, taking a spot on the wall next to his friends.

The feral boy jumped excitedly, Akamaru yipping at his enthusiasm. They strode into the classroom full of confidence, practically slamming the door behind them. A couple of minutes later, they both emerged, Kiba rubbing his head nervously with his forehead protector in his other hand. "I almost didn't make it. Guess I got lucky. Anyways, Sakura, they called for you." he said, going back to his seat on the floor.

The pinkette looked deflated for a moment, then entered the classroom hurriedly. She came back out in a minute with a forehead protector wrapped as a bow on her head. "Shikamaru." she said blatantly as she rushed back over to stare at Sasuke with stars in her eyes.

The pineapple head sighed. "How troublesome." he said as he dragged himself inside the room. He came out faster than Shino had, a Leaf headband wrapped around his left shoulder. He yawned, then went back to his original spot. "Sasuke."

The Uchiha grunted in response, and casually walked into the classroom, Ino, Sakura, and several other fangirls giving him shouts of affection and encouragement. Moments later, he walked out with a forehead protector around his head, all the girls screaming and squealing in jubilee that he passed. "Hinata." he grunted.

Naruto turned his attention to her. As her name was called, she looked to the ground unsure of herself. Then she looked in his direction. He gave her a small smile, to which she turned bright red, and hastily entered the room. After a minute or so, she came out with a small smile, a Leaf headband around her neck. "I-Ino." she stuttered.

The platinum blonde looked away from her object of affection and entered the room quickly. She came back out after a short minute with a forehead protector wrapped around her waist. "Choji!" she yelled out, moving back next to Sasuke, much to the disliking of several other fangirls.

Choji blanched some, looking more nervous than ever. Naruto decided to try to relieve some of his nervousness. "Hey Choji, good luck." he said with a friendly smile. It seemed to have worked as Choji smiled back, picking himself up with newfound confidence as he entered the classroom. He came back out with bandanna styled forehead protector that let some tufts of his hair stick out at the sides. "Alright Naruto, you're the last one."

Naruto took a deep breath to steel his nerves, and opened the door to the classroom.

* * *

Naruto stood in front of Mizuki and Iruka. He could not help but feel a little nervous about the test. '_How am I going to pass!?'_ he screamed in his head.

"Alright Naruto," Iruka told him, "you are the last one. So let's end this on a good note, shall we?" he said with an encouraging smile.

The blonde looked back and forth between his two teachers. _'Well, here goes nothing...'_ he thought with a sigh.

"Alright, the first jutsu is the **Transformation Jutsu**." Mizuki told the blonde.

He nodded and made a hand sign. **"Transform!"** he yelled in a puff of smoke. When it cleared, he looked exactly like Iruka, with almost no flaws.

Both teachers gave their nods of approval. "Very good. Next is the **Substitution Jutsu**." Iruka instructed him.

Giving another nod he made a quick hand sign, looking around the room, and finally disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving a nearby desk in his place. Both teachers nodded again and jotted something on their clipborads. "Excellent. Okay, the last technique is the **Clone Jutsu**." Iruka said to him.

Naruto nervously shifted his feet, and subconsciously began to sweat. _'Chill man,'_ he chided himself in his mind, _'I can do this...' _After a short hesitation, he made the clone hand sign and shouted, **"Clone Jutsu!"** and a puff of smoke appeared next to him.

Through the cloud of obscurring smoke stood a pale and frail version of Naruto, his tongue hanging out, wobbling to-and-fro until he fell to the ground. Naruto blanched and rubbed the back of his head nervously, smiling uneasily at his examiners.

Mizuki just sighed, but Iruka looked ready to explode. He calmed himself down. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but you fail." he said solemnly.

Naruto was absolutely crushed. he cursed himself for not being able to do a simple jutsu. Mizuki looked sideways at his partner. "Oh come on, Iruka, he performed a good transformation and a perfect substitution. I think we can let him pass."

Iruka shook his head. "No, Mizuki, all the other students made at least three clones, and he couldn't even make a healthy one. I have to fail him." He looked back at the blonde. "I'm sorry Naruto."

The blonde nodded sadly, but picked himself up and said, "Thank you." he said, his voice cracking some, and he ran out the door.

Iruka had to look away from the blonde for fear of crying himself. "I really am sorry Naruto..."

Mizuki did not show any emotion, but if one looked close enough, he had the faintest of smirks on his lips.

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter VII: Deception**


	8. Bloodline Chapter 7

**Chapter VII: Deception**

_'Man, this sucks..' _Naruto thought on his way to Ichiraku's. After he had run out of the academy in tears, he had found a nice quiet place to drown himself in self-pity. When he was somewhat over it, he decided that a meal at his favorite food joint would cheer him up some. When he arrived, Ayame and Teuchi were already waiting on him.

"Hey Naruto! How did the Genin Exams go?" Teuchi exclaimed at his favorite and most frequent customer.

Naruto just gave her a sad smile, and the two chefs frowned. "I'm so sorry, Naruto.." Ayame said as she hugged the blonde from across the counter.

Naruto readily accepted it, needing the comfort. "Thanks Ayame. I needed that."

She broke away and smiled at him. "Any time."

"Hey Naruto!" Teuchi said, "How about a free meal to get you out of your funk?"

The blonde grinned wide. "Really old man!? How about eight of the specials?"

"Coming right up!" he responded, setting to work on making several bowels of ramen.

Fifteen minutes (and eight bowls of ramen specials) later, Naruto exits Ichiraku's with a full stomach. Deciding to go home and relax for the day, he said his goodbyes to the restaurant owners and took a stroll through the village on the way there.

"Hey Naruto."

He turned around to see who had called his name. Mizuki stood there, a weird kind of friendly smile on his face. "Do you have a minute." The chunin said.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, I guess. What for?"

"I just want to talk to you for a moment, that's all."

"Okay then."

"Come, how about we go sit on one of the rooftops?"

A few minutes later, both of them were sitting on one of the rooftops that had a broad view of the Leaf Village. "You know why Iruka is hard on you, right? Why he's always been like that since you began the academy?"

Naruto looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Why?"

Mizuki chuckled. "It's because you remind him of himself when he was younger."

He paused, dawning a serious expression. "Listen Naruto, I know it was hard to fail the exam for a second time. Most people just drop out of the academy after they fail their second time."

"But," he continued, a small smirk growing on his lips, "there is another way to pass the exam."

Naruto was skeptical to say the least. "What do you mean?"

Mizuki inclined his head, closing his eyes. "There is a scroll in the Hokage's office that has special jutsu. If you can learn one of the jutsu from the scroll, you will pass."

He looked straight at the blonde. "The thing is, nobody wants to use that way because they think that meer children aren't capable of doing such jutsu, but I think that you're special Naruto. Even if the others don't see it, I think you are. That's why I'm going to help you try and learn a jutsu from the scroll. I need you to take the scroll, bring it out to the forest tonight, and I'll be there to help you learn the jutsu."

The blonde was ecstatic. "Really!? Awesome! I'm going to pass the exam! Woo!"

Mizuki chuckled some more. "One last thing Naruto. This is only a one night thing. At sunrise, you have to give me the scroll... Whether you learned a jutsu from it or not. Understand?"

He nodded quickly and jumped around. Mizuki turned away. "Well, I'll see you tonight then Naruto. Until then!" he said and in a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

_*****In the Forests Outside of Konoha*****_

"Doesn't look like anybody followed me." Naruto said, huffing slightly from the run he made from the village. He had a few close calls with a few jonin that were searching for him, but he had easily avoided them.

He thought about how easy it was for him to take the scroll from the Hokage's office. He would have thought that maybe the place would be guraded more securely. Now that didn't mean that there weren't any guards, but they just could not have prepared for his stealth abilities.

Now he was sitting in a small clearing a mile or two outside the walls of the Leaf where Mizuki had told him to meet up at.

_'Doesn't look like Mizuki-sensei is here though.'_ he thought. He looked down at the large scroll in his hands, a foxy grin growing on his face. _'Well, I might as well start training.'_

He laid the scroll onto the grass and unraveled it. His eyes shot up to the first jutsu on the page. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu, **huh? Sasys here that it is a forbidden technique that requires a lot of chakra." he smiled real wide. "Well, it's a good thing that I have a lot of chakra. Now let's see... Says that I only need to do this hand sign here..."

He practiced going through the single hand sign for the jutsu, trying to get it just right. After he figured that he had it down, Iruka flew from the treeline into the clearing, standing over the blonde genin.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?" he yelled.

Said blonde just grinned goofily. "Hey Iruka-sensei, I didn't know you were going to be here, too. But listen, I learned a jutsu from the scroll so you have to let me pass now!"

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "What? Who told you that?"

"Mizuki-sensei. He said if I learned a jutsu from the scroll then I could pass." the blonde answered.

Iruka looked as confused as ever. "Mizuki.."

Iruka suddenly looked over his shoulder and shoved Naruto to the side as several kunai flew out of the treeline at the spot where he was a moment ago. Iruka backed up against a tree, a kunai lodged into his leg and shoulder. He ripped both of them out, and then the air filled with an eerie laugh.

"Looks like you got to him before I did Iruka." Mizuki said, stepping out from behind a tree and standing on a branch with two windmill shuriken strapped to his back.

Iruka snarled out. "Mizuki! Why are you doing this!?"

Mizuki chuckled darkly. "Isn't it obvious Iruka? I'm here for the scroll."

Iruka grimaced. "You traitor..."

Mizuki took off one of his windmill shuriken. "You know, I'd really like to thank you Naruto. Without you, none of this would have been possible. I always knew you were something special. The way you could avoid the villagers for hours with your speed and stealth really impressed me. So it was a golden opportunity for me when you failed the exam and I came up with a plan for stealing the Sacred Scroll. I really could not have done it without your help."

"So as thanks for doing all the dirty work, before you die, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Iruka widened his eyes in fear and shock. "No Mizuki! It is forbidden!" he yelled

Naruto looked warily at his former sensei. _'Forbidden huh? I think I know where this is going.'_ "What? What is forbidden?"

Mizuki let out a maniacal laugh. "The law that you don't know about. The one prohibiting anyone from telling you that the Nine-tailed Demon Fox is inside of you and has taken over your body. YOU are the Nine-tailed Fox!"

Naruto stared at the white-haired chunin with a blank expression. "Is that supposed to surprise me? I already met the fox. I already know why the villagers look at me the way they do, and why they always beat me and try to kill me when they can."

Mizuki and Iruka both widened their eyes at this new information, but Mizuki quickly scowled afterwards. "Well since you already know, let me put you out of your misery so I can do this village a favor!" he yelled at the end, hurling the windmill shuriken straight for Naruto.

The blonde took a step back to evade, but tripped over a tree root on the ground, falling on his butt. Watching as the shuriken got closer and closer, he closed his eyes and waited for his life to end.

With a sickening thud of metal hitting flesh, Naruto heard the giant shuriken hit, but not his own body. He opened his eyes and stared up in shock at Iruka, who acted as a shield over him, the shuriken lodged into his back.

"Naruto..." he said weakly, with a smile. "I'm so sorry. I tried to give you a good academy start at the beginning, but when I found out that I wasn't going to be your sensei this year, I knew you were going to have a hard time. Always being shunned away, mocked by the class, hated by the teachers. I wish I could have been there."

He coughed up some blood that landed on Naruto. "You remind me so much of myself. I grew up alone with no parents at all, just like you. I lost them in the Nine-tails attack on the village all those years ago. For years, I blamed you for their deaths... But after I had you in my class for the first time, I realized that you aren't what killed them. You are Naruto Uzumaki, proud ninja of the Hidden Leaf."

A trail of blood escaped his mouth as he smiled down at the blonde. "Run Naruto. Run and live."

Naruto was speechless. He had no idea what to do. Listening to his sensei's words, he grabbed the scroll and leapt off into the forest.

"Oh no you don't!" Mizuki yelled, throwing some smaller shuriken at him. Iruka was there in a flash to block them with his own kunai, though his movements were sluggish. He pulled the large shuriken out of his back, and hobbled backwards to lean against a tree, never taking his eyes off Mizuki for a second.

Said white-haired villain scowled, but quickly smirked, jumping down from the tree. "Oh well, it's not like he can get too far. As for you Iruka, prepare to die." he said, taking out his final windmill shuriken and throwing at an incredible speed at Iruka.

Iruka smiled. "You're wrong Mizuki.. He's long gone." he said quietly, closing his eyes and waiting for the impact to finish him.

**Earth Style: Earth Wall**!"

Iruka's eyes popped open just as a large wall of earth rose up from the ground and effectively stopped the shuriken as it struck the earthen barricade.

Mizuki reeled back. "What the!?"

Naruto jumped down from a nearby tree, releasing the Jutsu and sending the earth back into the ground. Mizuki snarled. "How can you use elemental ninjutsu!? You can't even do a simple clone!"

Naruto's eyes turned stony and cold. "There are several things that you don't know about me, like this." he said while making a finger-cross handsign. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

In a large plume of smoke, several Naruto's appeared, filling the entire clearing and surrounding Mizuki from every direction.

The three people present all had different reactions. Naruto was a smirk of pride and confidence. _'Aaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww YEEEAAAAHHH__!'_

Iruka's eyes were wide and he smiled in excitement in pride. _'These aren't just fakes. These are real clones!"_

Mizuki took a step back, fear overwhelming his body. "W-w-what is this!?"

The Naruto's all took a fox grin, all also looking dead at Mizuki. "Attack!" yelled the original from somewhere among the mass, and in a split second the air was filled with several battlecries as they converged on the white-haired chunin.

Mizuki twisted his head in all directions. "No! Stay back! Don't touch me! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled as the clones began to clobber the living mess out of him.

After all the clones had dispelled and Mizuki lay in a crumpled heap in the center of the clearing, Naruto walked over to his sensei, where he was still propped up against the tree. "Hey Iruka-sensei, you alright?"

Iruka chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little beat up, but nothing that a quick trip to the hospital can't fix." His expression turned serious. "Hey Naruto, how do you know how to use elemental jutsu already? Is earth your affinity?"

Naruto's fox grin returned to his face. "Actually sensei, my affinity is wind, but before you ask how I can do earth jutsu even though my affinity is wind, I have a very special form of bloodline. You can't tell anyone however, got it?" he said, wagging a finger in front of his sensei.

Iruka was expecting anything but that answer. "You have a bloodline Naruto? What kind?" he asked in surprise and shock.

Naruto offered a hand. "C'mon sensei, I'll talk to you about on our way back to Konoha."

Iruka smiled and took the hand, steadying himself against Naruto. A thought suddenly occured to him. "Wait, what about Mizuki?"

They both looked back to the clearing only to see that there was no further trace of the white-haired traitor. Naruto cursed. "Dammit."

Iruka patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it Naruto. I don't think he'll mess with us again, or come back to the village for that matter."

Hearing this, the blonde genin perked up. "Alright Iruka sensei. Let's go home."

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter VIII****: The Teams**


	9. Bloodline Chapter 8

Yo.

Alright, got the first seven chapters re-uploaded. There is A LOT that changed within the chapters, but the story line is still the same. Some chapters are shorter than they were originally, and a few are longer. I'll do a better job of reviewing and checking my work to see if everything makes sense and doesn't contradict other parts in the story before I post it so stuff like this doesn't happen again.

Also, there are a few things that haven't happened at the beginning of my story that contradict what happened in the canon, but will happen later. If you want to know them just for knowledge's sake, check out the Author's Note.

Hi, my name is l3eatdown, and welcome to another chapter of **Bloodline**!

* * *

**Chapter VIII: The Teams**

Naruto strode through the streets of Konoha on his way to the academy to find his team placement. His hand went up to the shiny, slightly faded forehead protector adorning his head. He smiled, remembering how Iruka had given him his headband that he was wearing as a special gift for rescuing him.

He reached the academy, and waltzed into the class like he did not have a care in the world. He took in all the faces that obviously were surprised about him being there, except for his friends, Sasuke, Kiba, and Hinata. The class began to uproar about it.

"Hey! How did he get a forehead protector!? There's no way the dead-last could have passed!" screeched one kid.

"He must have stolen it!" yelled another.

Naruto sighed. _'So much stupidity...'_ he thought, shoving his hands in his sweatpants pockets and sitting next to Choji at the end of their row that the group of four friends normally sat on.

After some more jaunts and exclamations were said about the blonde, everyone's attention turned to their sensei, who entered the room a few seconds prior. "Well, I see that everyone passed.. (Cue one glare at the blonde jinchuriki) Ahem, anyways, here are your team placements..."

Naruto sighed, tuning out his sensei who he never actually learned the name of. He finally listened back in when the teacher called a name that he could match with a face. "Alright," he said in a loud and clear voice, "Team Seven, under Kakashi Hatake, is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno..." he clenched his teeth through the next name. "... And Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto slumped in his chair. "Just great... Well, see you guys later." he said, standing up from his seat and moving to sit next to a brooding Sasuke and an overly excited Sakura.

"Team Eight, under Kurenai Yuhi, will be Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame." the instructor called out next.

All three stood from their seats and moved to an open row so they could all sit with one another. Shino remained impassive as ever. Kiba maintained a confident smirk, with Akamaru wagging his tail happily while sitting atop Kiba's hood on his head. Hinata looked happy and sad at the same time. She kept stealing short and quick glances at Naruto, which he did not miss.

_'Why is she looking at me? She looks so sad..'_ he thought in his head. He averted his gaze to look at her. She did another one of her quick side glances, and blushed bright red when she saw him looking at her. She quickly looked away, straight ahead at their sensei. Naruto raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. _'I'll never understand girls...'_ he thought as the next team was called out.

"Team Nine is still active as of the moment, so we will move on to Team Ten under Asuma Sarutobi: Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka." He looked up from his roster at all the students in front of him, minus Naruto. "Congratulations to... _most_ of you on becoming genin. You should be proud of yourselves."

Naruto tilted his head back with a sigh. _'Will this guy ever give up?' _he asked for the millionth time as his 'teacher' continued. "Now, all of you will be meeting your sensei's shortly. Again congratulations on graduating the academy." he said, finishing with a bow and exiting the room as some jonin enter the room, claiming their respective teams and leading them out of the classroom.

* * *

"An hour. We've been waiting an hour!" Sakura complained, much to the annoyance of Naruto. The three were still seated in the same classroom, still waiting on their jonin never moved an inch, Naruto had his legs propped up in a more comfortable fashion, and Sakura paced at the front of the room, clearly aggravated.

The blonde sighed. _'I hope she isn't always like this..'_ Just then the door to the classroom opened. The man who now stood in the doorway wore the standard jonin attire, though it was all very relaxed and loose for someone of his rank. His hair was shining silver, and seemed to defy all acts of gravity by standing up at angles around his head. His face from the nose down was covered by a dark mask, while his left eye was concealed behind his lop-sided headband.

He surveyed the three genin in front of him with his one visible eye before asking lazily, "Are you all Team Seven?"

Sakura pointed and shouted angrily, "Are you Kakashi-sensei? Where the hell were you!?"

The jonin silently sigh. His first impression of his new team was troublesome, for lack of a better word. There was suddenly a wave of sneezes that sounded throughout the village, particularly from the Nara clan compound. He was about to voice his thoughts when he saw the blonde stand from his seat and walk over to him.

Naruto had his eyes closed and a bored expression on his face. "Relax Sakura. I don't mind the waiting." He opened his eyes to look intently with his ocean blue eyes at his new sensei. "So, shall we be going... Kakashi-sensei?" he said with a friendly smile at the end.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "My first impression on you guys... Bearable. Now, meet me on the roof of the academy in fifteen minutes." he finished before disappearing a cloud of smoke.

* * *

"Alright," Kakashi started, "since we are all going to be on a team together, it would be good if we shared some information about one another. So I want all of you to tell me your names, likes and dislikes, and dreams for the future."

Sakura raised her hand. "Excuse me Kakashi-sensei, but could you show us how to do it."

Kakashi shrugged. "Sure. My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future... Not important."

Sakura jabbed a finger at him. "All you told us was your name!"

Kakashi nodded. "Exactly. Glad you were paying attention. Now, why don't you go first." he said, pointing at Sasuke.

Sasuke did a gruff grunt. "Sasuke Uchiha. I have no likes and many dislikes. And my dream... no, not a dream, my ambition... is to kill a certain someone..."

Kakashi and Naruto both frowned at this, while Sakura ranted about how cool Sasuke was. Kakashi shook it off, then pointed to Naruto. "You're up blondie."

The blonde jinchuriki gave a friendly smile. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are ramen, nature, and hanging with my friends. My dislikes are those who judge others wrongly and anyone who blames others for something out of their control. My dreams for the future is to become a very respected ninja, maybe Hokage, and to protect my precious people and to bring peace to this world."

Kakashi inclined his head at the last bit of information. "Do you really think you can bring peace to the world?"

Naruto eyes turned fierce with determination. "I do. I have the dreams and wishes of some of my precious people riding on my shoulders. I will not fail them."

Kakashi nodded with a smile under his mask. he pointed then to Sakura. "You next pinky."

Sakura grew a small tick mark at the nickname, but replied with a smile. "My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are..." she paused, glancing sideways at Sasuke, "My hopes are..." again pausing to look at the brooding genin, "my dreams for the future..." this time when she looked at him again, she could not help herself from suppressing a squeal.

Naruto sighs inwardly. _'How I hate fangirls...'_

Sakura continued. "I dislike Naruto!" she practically yelled.

Kakashi frowned at this. He knew of Naruto's life and was normally assigned to watch over him on several occasions before he became an ex-ANBU. As far as he could tell, Naruto had almost no contact with her outside of the academy, so this left him rather confused about what her deal was.

Naruto frowned instantly and his eyes flashed the briefest hint of hurt and pain. He had never even talked to her outside of the academy, and even when they were in the academy, he seldom even looked her direction, let alone held a conversation with her. And yet, here she was, saying that she disliked him, even after he had just said that he doesn't like it when people judge others without getting to know them first.

Feeling his anger building because of it, he stood up, carefully trying to mask his emotions. "Kakashi-sensei, may I be excused?"

Kakashi could see that he was trying very hard to contain his emotions, so relented with a sigh. "Yes, all of you can go now. Meet tomorrow at Training Ground Seven at 9:00 a.m. sharp." he said before disappearing in another puff of smoke.

As soon as he was gone, Naruto jumped off the ceiling and headed out into the village, trying to control his raging emotions while jumping from roof to roof, leaving two bewildered genin back on the roof wondering where had he learned to do chakra jumps.

_*****The Next Day*****_

Naruto awoke early in the morning, way earlier than he had set his alarm for. After making sure that it wouldn't go off when it reached the time, he got up prepared himself for the day. He got into the shower, brushing his teeth while rinsing his hair at the same time, thinking about his training that he would do today with his new team.

If he was honest with himself, he felt excited and disappointed at the same time. He didn't like the idea of being on a team with an emo and a fan girl. His sensei was the only decent one that he could get along with at all.

He sighed to himself as he rinsed out his mouth and began lathering the rest of his body. _'I guess it will just take time for them to warm up to me..'_ he thought hopefully.

He cut off the water, drying himself off and putting on his sweat suit. He walked into his kitchen and poured himself a cup of milk while popping a can of instant ramen into his microwave. Once the microwave timer sounded, he quickly ate up the ramen in less than a minute. Finishing his 'breakfast', he locked his apartment and made his way to Training Ground Seven.

Naruto arrived at the field with a few seconds to spare. The training field was nothing special; wide open area with three wooden posts for taijutsu and kenjutsu training most likely. Sasuke was leaning against one of the posts, and Sakura was fawning over him, like usual.

The blonde, deciding to try to get on their good side early on, approached with a genuine smile. "Hey guys."

In return he received a grunt from the Uchiha and a sneer from Sakura. "Idiot! You were almost late for training!"

Naruto frowned. _'Why is she so adamant about being this way to me?'_ Deciding it would be best to ignore her. He walked over to one of the nearby trees. Once he was seated at the base of the tree, he leaned his head back on the hardened bark. For a normal person, this would have been highly uncomfortable, but Naruto was used to it since he had often watched nature with his surrogate family during his training.

Needless to say, once his head hit the tree, he was out like a light, going on a hunch that maybe their sensei would not show up as early as he had initially said.

* * *

Naruto awoke again to see a pacing Sakura and an annoyed Sasuke. He looked up at the sun, which was roughly positioned directly overhead, making the time close to noon.

_'Three hours and he's still not here?' _he thought as he lazily stretched from his sleeping spot, letting a silent yawn escape. He stood up, scratching the back of his neck before walking over to his fellow teammates.

Sakura through her hands into the air in annoyance. "Where is he?!" she yelled.

As if on cue, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, carrying a small orange book with him. He momentarily looked up from his reading at his students. "Good to see that you are all here." he said simply.

Naruto just shrugged. He honestly didn't care if Kakashi showed up late. He had slept anyways, so it was like he had even been waiting. Sakura, however, looked furious, but before she could yell at their sensei, he pulled out two silver bells, dangling them in his hand.

"Alright students," the jonin said, "you will be taking a test to see if you truly become genin."

Sakura spoke up in an uproar. "Wait a minute! I thought that we had already passed the exams and were genin! What's the big deal!?"

Kakashi sighed in annoyance. "While you did pass the academy exams, there is one final test to see if you are truly ready to become ninja. Now, if there are no more interruptions, here, as you can see, are two bells. Your mission goal is to get the bells from me by any means necessary. That means come at me with the intent to kill."

He stopped momentarily to flip a page in his book. "The rules for this test are simple. You must get one of the bells from me in three hours time. Since there are only two bells, the one that does not get a bell will be sent back to the academy. If all of you fail to get a bell, then you will all be sent back." he said with indifference, as if he were talking about the weather.

The three unofficial official genin had varied reactions. The worst reaction came from Sakura, as she had visibly paled and was blubbering to herself. Sasuke had his fists clenched, a defiant look in his eyes. Naruto seemed to be the most calm out of everyone, much to Kakashi's surprise. He had heard that he was one of the loudest and most meddling student in the academy, but by the way he was acting, he didn't match that description at all.

Kakashi pulled out a small timer, which he then set on one of the posts. "Alright. Your time begins... Now." he said. Instantly, two of the three genin separated, leaving only Naruto standing in the center of the clearing with Kakashi.

Kakashi watched the boy in front of him with a lazy eye, but had a smile under his mask. _'Maybe he can figure it out.'_ he thought as he watched the younger shinobi in front of him think with his arms folded.

Naruto was completely oblivious to the outside world. He was too busy trying to make sense of this test. In fact, none of it made sense to him. _'Why would Kakashi-sensei pit us against one another?'_ he thought, as his eyes bore into Kakashi's as they stood there.

A few more minutes passed, neither moving an inch, until Naruto suddenly broke out into a smirk, making his special justu hand sign, and saying, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** which created two clones next to the real one. And in a split second, all three were gone, having went in separate directions away from the training field.

Kakashi was a little taken back by Naruto knowing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but smiled behind his mask. _'I wonder if he's figured it out..'_

_*****With Naruto*****_

Naruto was leaning against a tree, waiting on his shadow clones to return to him. He snickered to himself, giddy that he had discovered the purpose of the test single-handedly. _'Maybe now they will see that I'm not the same idiot from the academy years ago. And hopefully accept me.'_

He didn't have to wait a long time as both Sasuke and Sakura appeared at the same time in front of him along with his clones. The looks on their faces showing mild surprise and total shock at the three Narutos in front of them respectively, Naruto dispersed his two clones, leaving the real one still leaning against the tree.

Sakura broke out of her stupor and responded in an irritated fashion. "What did you want Naruto? Couldn't you tell that we were trying to hide so that we could get the bells from the Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto shook his head. "That's the thing Sakura. I think I've figured out the true purpose for this test." he said, earning a confused look from Sakura and an uninterested glance from Sasuke.

"What do you mean?" was her response.

Naruto let his smirk spread on his face. "I think that the true purpose is to not test our individual strengths, but our teamwork."

When he saw that neither of them were showing any acknowledgement, he continued. "Think about it. Have you ever heard of a genin team with only two genin and a jonin sensei? It's always a three-man genin team with a jonin." he said, understanding dawning on his two comrades.

"I see." the Uchiha said, "So, even if we did get the bells, he would probably fail us anyways since we didn't coöperate as a team."

Naruto nodded. "Precisely. He pits against each other to see if we could see the true meaning of the test."

Saukra spoke unevenly. "Are you sure Naruto? What if you're wrong? We could all get sent back to the academy..."

Naruto remained firm in his argument. "I highly doubt that there is any other purpose. It's the most logical answer. Which is why we need to work together to try to get the bells from him. If we work together to get the bells, then I believe that we will all pass his test."

For moment neither of his teammates said anything. Sasuke grunted. "I guess we don't have much to lose."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and it sounds reasonable." She turned to her blonde teammate. "Do you have a plan then?"

He gave them one of his signature fox grins. "Of course. What did you think I was doing all this time waiting for you guys to get here? Now come in close. Here's what we're gonna do..."

_*****A Few Minutes Later, With Kakashi*****_

Kakashi was now leaning against the middle post in Training Ground Seven, reading his book. Though he appeared to be reading his book, he was too busy being amused with his team.

He had followed the real Naruto to where he had met the other members of Team Seven, and had told them his suspicions. He was impressed greatly by his student's perceptiveness, and even more impressed by the other's willing communication and help. Needless to say, he couldn't help but have a smile on his face as he waited for his team to try to ambush him.

He didn't even have to wait ten more seconds before Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all rushed him from different directions. Kakashi stood up straight, a little disappointed that they were trying such a straight forward attack. He did a vertical jump just as all three reached him, kicking Naruto in the face, sending him skidding away on the ground.

In the fraction of a second, he reached down with one hand and had tossed Sakura away like she was a rag doll. Once she was gone, he tried reaching for Sasuke, only for him to jump back out of reach and throw some shuriken at him.

The elder ninja easily dodged all the thrown weaponry, dodging another strike from Naruto, then a kunai from Sakura.

Getting bored rather quickly, he decided to end it swiftly. He grabbed a hold of Naruto's arm and slung him around into a nearby Sakura. Still carrying the momentum of the throw he was about to release, he brought the two around and hurled them straight for the Uchiha, who was hit before he knew what was going on.

Kakashi sighed. "Honestly, I was hoping for more of a fight. I guess I will have to fail you all."

Instead of getting a negative reaction from them, they all smirked before speaking in sync. "Game over." Then, Sasuke and Sakura transformed in a puff of smoke back into Narutos.

Kakashi widened his visible eye. "Shadow Clones?"

Before he could recover though, he heard a shout come from behind him. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"**

Kakashi had barely enough time to evade a ball of fire that hurtled through the air just where he was a moment earlier.

He didn't have time to do anything else but block as Naruto once again jumped at him, lashing out with his fists.

Kakashi was now on full defensive, dodging the punches thrown by Naruto and deflecting kunai and shuriken thrown at him by Sakura and Sasuke.

He dodged another jab and kick by Naruto, forcing him to cart-wheel backwards. That was when he saw the blonde smirk.

Kakashi felt all of his danger senses go off as he looked behind him in mid flip to see Sasuke tackling him from behind, bringing him down to the ground. The two wrestled for a moment, but Kakashi eventually threw him off, leaping away.

Kakashi was now breathing a bit heavier than before, while Team Seven looked more exhausted from the effort. After a few more seconds, Sasuke broke into a smirk holding up two silver bells in his hand.

Kakashi recoiled in disbelief. He looked down at where he had placed the bells only to see that they were gone. Recovering what dignity he had left, he held up a hand, his thumb jutting towards the sky. "Congratulations you three. You pass!"

This earned a shout of joy from Sakura, a grin from Sasuke, and an equally excited shout from Naruto.

Kakashi walked over to his team, closing and putting away his book. "I see that you figured out the true purpose for this test; to see how well the three of you will work together as a team. While all of you have a lot of flaws, we will be working on that in the future as we begin to take on missions and do more training."

He turned away to look at them sideways. "Again, congratulations. Tomorrow we will meet same place, same time, and we'll begin missions and training. Until then, later!" he said as he vanished in a plume of smoke.

The three of them walked out of the training ground together. Naruto was about to go his own way, when Sakura stopped him.

"Hey, Naruto, I just want to say I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. You really did come up with a good plan, so, I just want to say sorry for judging you like I did." she said with sincerity.

Sasuke spoke up, the boredom and sarcasm that usually tinged his voice gone and replaced by a more casual and friendlier one. "Yeah. You're not such a dobe after all. Nice work."

Naruto could have cried. His teammates now accepted him. Getting an idea, he gestured to them. "Hey guys, why don't you come with me to one of my favorite restaurants to celebrate Team Seven. My treat." he said, giving them one his few sincere smiles.

"Sure/Alright." Sasuke and Sakura said.

They all then made their way to Ichiraku's with Naruto doing his own celebration in his own mind.

He now had a team and teammates. And they accepted him.

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter IX: Waves of Turmoil**


	10. Bloodline Chapter 9

Yo.

Alright, just want to say I'm not a basher, so no Sasuke/Sakura bashing. They will progress normally, yet differently at the same time, if that makes any sense.

This chapter starts the Wave Arc. I mixed it up a little so that there's more fighting going on than what happened in the canon. Personally, I had a lot of fun writing this arc. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I don't always post another chapter of **Bloodline**... But when I do, I make sure that I'm posting as l3eatdown. XP

* * *

**Chapter IX: Waves of Turmoil**

"I _hate_ this mission!" yelled Naruto while holding a fiesty cat in his arms, outstretched as far away from him as he could get it.

His two teammates and sensei nodded their heads in agreement. None was too stupid to actually want to try to catch Tora the Cat, known as the arch nemesis of all genin squads that attempted the cat's capture. While the feline looked harmless at a distance, especially with the big red bow on one of its ears, any genin and/or jonin sensei could tell you that the cat must have been a demon spawn sent straight from the darkest depths of hell itself.

Team Seven had spent a good half of the day just trying to corner the beast, let alone actually catch it. Currently, it was close to two in the afternoon, and the group of four were treading the streets of Konoha on their way to the mission's office at the academy, where all the new genin teams went to receive and report their missions

Once they were at the office, they were charged by a large woman wearing expensive everything on her. She snatched the cat out of Naruto's outstretched hands, placing it in a death lock hold, when in all actuality she was only hugging it in affection.

"Thank you so much for finding my Tora!" she blubbered, squashing the life out of the animal.

All of team Seven sweat dropped, thinking the same thing; _'No wonder it always runs away and is so mean...'_

After the woman exited the office, Team Seven all turned to see several chunin and a rare sight of the Hokage himself sitting at a long table that held several documents and scrolls detailing mission assignments.

Kakashi straightened to attention. "Team Seven reporting mission success. Capture of one Tora the Cat complete."

Hiruzen nodded. "Excellent work Team Seven. Are you going to take another mission? We have several more D-ranks available."

The Professor picked up a scroll labeled "D" on it and read aloud. "Let's see here, we have walking the Inuzuka clan dogs, weeding a council member's garden, cleaning up litter and other trash around our village, c-"

A yell sounded from outside the office. "Tora! Don't run away! Come back to mommy!"

Sarutobi sighed. "Catching Tora the Ca-"

"NO!" was the unison response from the three genin. Hiruzen chuckled inwardly. The only reason they even had that mission up all the time was because the Fire Daimyo's wife paid big money for his return.

The Third snapped back to the real world when he heard Naruto speak. "Come on old man, can we have a harder mission? Please, please?"

Hiruzen thought about it before looking to Kakashi. "Kakashi, do you believe your students are ready?"

Kakashi nodded, giving an eye smile. "Yes Lord Hokage. Their teamwork has greatly improved over these past few months. I believe they can handle something of a higher caliber. that is, if they think they are ready." he said, looking lazily to his three students.

Naruto, of course, was up for it. Sasuke also gave a nod of assurance, letting them know that he too wanted something more challenging. Sakura looked unsure at first, but after seeing her two teammates confidence, quickly agreed with them as well.

Sarutobi smiled. "Then it's settled then. Kakashi, your team will be receiving a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves." He signalled to one of the chunin nearby. "Send in Mr. Tazuna."

The team all turned to another door on the opposite end of the building. The door opened to show an older looking man with a dark tan, sporting grey hair and a beard, wearing casual civilian traveling attire, and a straw hat.

He walked into the room, his eyes falling on the shinobi in front of him. He spoke with a little disappointment in his voice. "Are these the ninja that will be protecting me? For God's sake, they're just kids."

The three genin were slightly irked by his comment, but Kakashi interrupted before anything got worse. "I assure you Mr. Tazuna, my genin are capable, and even if I didn't think that my genin were capable enough to handle this mission, I am a jonin, so you have nothing to worry about." he said with an eye smile.

Tazuna nodded his head at the cyclops ninja. "Very well then. I trust your judgment. Do you mind if I get all of your names so it will be easier to communicate to anyone should anything unexpected happen?" he said.

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't see why not, but why would you be expecting anything to happen?"

Tazuna's face remained unchanged as he even stated, "I am a bridge builder for my country, and am currently constructing a masterpiece. However, there are some bandits that don't exactly 'appreciate' my work, if you understand what I mean."

Kakashi nodded. "Understood. In any case, my name is Kakashi Hatake, jonin sensei. This here is Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." he said, pointing out each team member individually.

Tazuna nodded. "Nice to make all of your acquaintances. Now, if it's okay with you all, I would like to leave the village early tomorrow morning."

Kakashi gave a nod signalling that it was fine. Tazuna continued. "Excellent. Then I will see all of you tomorrow at seven o'clock at the village gates." he said before turning back around and exiting the way he came in.

Kakashi turned to face his three genin. "Well team, congrats on receiving a C-rank mission. I want you all to prepare for at least a weeks time, since this will be your first mission as a team out of the village. As for today, you all have the rest of the day off. See you tomorrow morning!" he said, disappearing in the usual plume of smoke.

Th three members of Team Seven dispersed shortly afterwards, each heading off to their homes to prepare for the upcoming mission.

_*****The Next Morning*****_

Tazuna walked sluggishly to the front gate of Konoha. He was hoping to arrive before the ninja so that they could hopefully leave earlier than he had hoped. Arriving at the gate and seeing no one in the vicinity, he relaxed, happy that he had arrived earlier than everyone else had.

Or so he had thought.

"Good morning Mr. Tazuna." came a voice from somewhere around him.

The bridge builder jumped, a hand clutching his chest over his heart and breathing hard, like he had just experienced a mini heartattack. His head jerked around, looking for the voice that had spoken. "W-where are you?"

""I'm above you." the voice responded. Tazuna's head shot up. There, sitting with his legs dangling below the arch of the gate, was Naruto Uzumaki. He had a peaceful and calm look plastering his facial features, his eyes hazy as he stared off into the nothingness of the twilight sky.

Tazuna regained his composure, looking up at the blonde genin. "Why are you up so early?"

The blonde cracked a smile, humor lacing his voice as he responded to the question. "The same could be asked of you Mr. Tazuna."

Tazuna sighed in annoyance. "I got here early so that we could hopefully leave early. Now answer my question."

The smile never left the boy's face. "I often wake up early in the mornings to come out here to enjoy the serenity and peace that the surrounding nature brings before it is chased away by the business and daily routines of this village."

He shifted on his perch, continuing, "I really appreciate nature Mr. Tazuna. It's one of the greatest things this world has to offer in more ways than one."

Tazuna never tore his gaze away from the blonde. The boy's words, to him anyways, sounded like they were coming straight out of the mouth of an old sage. Tazuna broke his long stare at the kid, his first impression of the boy being that he was really laid back.

After another hour or so after, Sasuke and Sakura showed up at the same time, followed by Kakashi another full hour later, who was given dirty looks by Tazuna and his team save Naruto.

After a lame excuse from Kakashi stating why he was so late (and the prompt accusation of him being a liar shortly afterwards), Team Seven and Tazuna left The Hidden Leaf Village just as the sun was at the midway point between daybreak and noon.

Team Seven made good time out of the village, considering they were traveling at civilian pace. Luckily, Wave Country was less than a days travel from Konoha, but at the rate they were moving, albeit slow, they would reach it within several hours.

The way they all walked was in a simple, but a proven effective formation. All four members of Team Seven formed a diamond around the bridge builder, with Sasuke leading, Naruto on his right, Sakura on the left, and Kakashi bringing up the rear, all spaced evenly apart to boot.

Onward they walked, no one saying a word the entire way except for a few short questions by the genin to Tazuna about Wave Country, to which he and Kakashi answered jointly.

Team Seven and Tazuna had now been on the road for a few hours. Tazuna was relaxing as his fears of actually being attacked by bandits dwindled with every passing hour. Sakura counted the number of shuriken and kunai in her pouch for maybe the millionth time. Sasuke's eyes darted back behind him, but he turned back around quickly.

The sudden movement by him, while unnoticed by Tazuna and Sakura, put Naruto and Kakashi on guard. Their eyes carefully scanned the area around them until they found what had put Sasuke on alert; a small puddle of water.

Kakashi eyed it warily, as did Naruto and Sasuke, all of them having similar thoughts. _'It hasn't rained in this area for days. obvious genjutsu.'_ they all thought.

Sasuke turned so that his peripheral vision rested on Kakashi in the back. Naruto performed a similar action, looking sideways at his sensei.

Kakashi shook his head at them; whoever was doing the genjutsu hadn't attacked them yet, so they wouldn't bother it. For all they knew, it could be a trap.

Understanding Kakashi's body language, the two faced forward again, still eyeing the strange puddle.

The three that had seen the puddle visibly tensed, waiting for whoever was casting the jutsu to suddenly charge out and attack them. But no attack came, even after Kakashi had passed it.

Feeling himself relax some, Naruto looked on once again, but his relaxation was brought to screeching halt by the sound of kunai rattling against each other.

Spinning around quickly, he saw two people emerge - both with unruly amounts of hair on their heads, with one of them having longer locks than the other, camouflaged clothing, slashed Mist headbands, and breathing masks - from the puddle and rush his sensei at fast speeds, pinning him with a chain made of shuriken. Then, in a sudden and quick tug from the two attackers, the chain rope of sharp objects contracted around Kakashi's body until he exploded, sending shreds of him all over the surrounding area.

Naruto eyes showed the briefest flash of shock. But it was quickly replaced by steeled confidence. He had to stop these people. He couldn't let his sensei's untimely demise be in vain.

The two new enemies withdrew the chains connected by the gauntlets on their arms, and rushed the bridge builder. Before the could reach him, though. Sasuke appeared in front of him, throwing a shuriken the hit the chain with precision accuracy pushing it back.

Naruto seized the moment by taking a kunai and accurately hitting Sasuke's thrown shuriken, driving it further back and impaling it deep into a tree.

The shorter haired ninja grunted in slight surprise. "We're pinned." His partner and he reached for their gauntlets and after a few clicks, the chain disconnected from their arms, falling to the ground.

Their arms now free, they faced the two opposing genin that stood between them and the bridge builder. "Out of our way." they said in unison.

Naruto and Sasuke said nothing as they slipped into fighting stances. Sakura broke out of her shocked and frightened stupor and stood in front of Tazuna, a kunai gripped tightly in her hand.

The two enemies raised their gauntlets. "If you won't move, we'll make you." the longer-haired nin spoke. And in a burst of speed, the shot towards the two genin.

The two genin shot off as well, meeting the two ninja halfway, clashing gauntlet against kunai.

_*****With Sasuke*****_

With the clang of kunai against gauntlet, Sasuke jumped away from his teammate, the longer haired ninja following after him. They both stood apart from each other, in fighting stances, waiting for the first move to be made.

The ex-Mist nin moved first, shooting forth in a burst of speed, his clawed gauntlet outstretched and ready to sever anything in its wake. Sasuke waited until just the right moment, then vaulted over the man with a front flip, his foot coming down and pushing off the back of the man's head, sending Sasuke higher into the air from the jump he made.

The ninja stumbled from the recoil, then turned to face Sasuke, the visible portions of his face red with rage. He aimed his gauntlet at the Uchiha, and in a split second dozens of senbon laced their way out of the fingertips of the claws.

Sasuke took a kunai out of his pouch and either dodged or deflected all the needles sent at him. Once the nin had stopped firing for the moment, Sasuke glanced at the ground. Several of the senbon littered the ground, their tips moistened in black liquid.

_'Poisoned.'_ he thought, bringing his kunai up for when any more of the deadly senbon came at him.

The man charged the Uchiha, looking to cleave him in two. Sasuke blocked or dodged all of his attempts at an attack, never having the time to properly counter. He finally got his break when the nin over extended his arm. Sasuke put a knee in his stomach, then an elbow to his face. The man recoiled, his hands shooting up to nurse his now bruised and bleeding nose.

Sasuke wasted no time. He went through a quick series of hand seals, finishing by bringing his a cupped hand to his mouth. _'**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!' _he yelled consciously, emitting a large burst of fire from his mouth straight at the disoriented ninja.

The man's eyes shot up in fear as the fireball approached. He tried to do a hand seal of his own, but the flames washed over him faster than he could have reacted.

Sasuke smirked, watching the flames burn the ground where his enemy had once stood. He was just turning to go help Naruto when a punch hooked him right in the chin. The impact of it sent him sprawling back. Rubbing his chin, he opened an eye to see what had gotten the better of him.

Standing there was the same man Sasuke had just fried, with absolutely no sign of singe marks on him. Sasuke's eyes shifted down, and he saw the puddle of water the man was standing in. _'Of course. He dropped into the puddle from earlier. He must have had water on him to do the jutsu.'_ he thought, standing back up and glaring at the ninja.

The ex-Mist ninja let out a deep, menacing laugh. "You'll have to do better than that kid." he sneered before breaking out into a sprint for Sasuke.

Sasuke wasted no time in running to meet the ninja, pulling out a kunai and clashing it against the deadly gauntlet on the guy's arm.

_*****With Naruto*****_

While Sasuke was handling the other ninja, Naruto found himself dodging and blocking every attempt at an attack by the shorter haired ninja, who was using his gauntlet to the fullest, slashing down on Naruto, then jabbing with his razor claws.

The blonde finally found an opening and did a kickflip off of the ex-Mist enemy, putting some distance between him and the ninja.

He quickly created four shadow clones, who all rushed the guy from different directions, hoping to disorient and confuse him.

How wrong they were. Being a ninja, he used his awareness and flexibility to strike from all directions at the clones. His clawed gauntlet ripped through the chest of one clone, dispelling it immediately.

Letting a grunt of victory, he jumped over another clone that passed below him. He brought his gauntlet down on the clone's head hard, dispelling it on impact.

The man spun around to face the two remaining clones. Neither of them made a move forward, trying to assess the situation.

Unfortunately, the enemy ninja wass not going to have any of that. He pointed the gauntlet at one of the clones. The gauntlet made a clicking sound, and in a flash it was whizzing through the air, a thin cable attached to a handle in the man's hand where the gauntlet had once covered.

The large and deadly projectile hit home in the gut of a clone, dispersing it before it had a chance to even react. Then as fast as it had come out, the claw retracted back to its master, clicking back into place on the guy's hand.

The last clone broke out of his shocked stupor and charged the ninja. And the ex-Mist ninja charged back. Naruto held a kunai outstretched in his hand. The man's gauntlet shot forth.

Just as the two were about to connect, the clone smirked. Right before dispelling itself in plume of smoke. Emerging from the other side was the real Naruto, his fist ready to connect with metal, covered in rapidly swirling wind.

The ninja tried to pull back, but it was already too late. The two hand-to-hand attacks collided, neither budging or giving way at first. Then, after a few seconds, cracks began to crease in the gauntlet, before it shattered altogether, and the ninja was blown away by Naruto's punch.

Naruto landed on his feet in a crouch. He rose up, his eyes still on the enemy ninja. Said ninja stood shakily, then charged Naruto with a kunai in hand. Naruto charged forth also, his swirling twister of a fist cocked for another blow to the man.

Naruto felt his head become light and eyes flutter. He looked at his wind-laced hand and saw that the twirling current was disappearing at a rapid rate.

_'Dammit! I still can't keep it going long enough!' he_ thought, and cursed under his breath as he came to a complete halt. He closed his eyes and waited for the ninja to take his life as the kunai was only inches away from piercing his chest.

And then in a blur of movement, someone had landed a punch to the man's gut, and hard too. The ninja's eyes bulged from the impact, the breath knocked out of him as his head sunk down. In the newcomer's arms was the ninja Sasuke had been fighting.

"Not a bad fight Naruto. You did well." came the voice of someone Naruto knew really well now.

He flashed a genuine smile up at the person that had just saved his life, his excitement, surprise, and relief heavily laced in his voice. "Kakashi-sensei!"

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter X: Waves of Wisdom**


	11. Bloodline Chapter 10

Yo.

How you guys doing? Finished writing another chapter for later, so I upload another now. Would have updated this morning, but it was my girlfriend's birthday today. Sorry, but she comes well before this story. XP

But anyways, I changed a lot in my storyline, if you haven't noticed already, as you are about to see in this chapter and the next. Haku won't make an appearance until the next chapter. And we get a sneak peek at a few of Naruto's new jutsu that will not be named until next chapter also. }:P

But whatever, here's Chapter Ten of **Bloodline**.

* * *

**Chapter X: Waves of Wisdom**

Kakashi eye-smiled at his student. "Good to see you too, Naruto." He shifted the guy on his arm. "Like I said, nice job dealing with these two."

Kakashi turned to face the rest of the team. "Sasuke, you did well also." The Uchiha was pouting in a brooding way, but his features lightened up some after the praise.

Kakashi turned to his last student. "Sakura, while you did not fight, you showed good wits and awareness about you, guarding the bridge builder like you did." Kakashi said in a friendly tone.

Sakura did a jump for joy, a small squeal splitting from her lips. Her brow furrowed in confusion quickly afterwards. "But Kakashi-sensei, I... _We... _thought that you..." she trailed off, not finishing the thought.

Kakashi simply pointed to where he had 'died' and lying on the ground in several places were shredded pieces of wood. The collective thought of Team Seven wrang through their heads with obvious idiocy, _'Substitution. Of course.'_

"And speaking of the bridge builder..." Kakashi spoke, setting the two dead weights for people down, glaring slightly at the older man. "Would you care to explain why two missing-nin are trying to kill you specifically, especially when these two ninja are the Demon Brothers of the Mist, Gozu and Meizu?"

Tazuna paled considerably. He shook his head, as if coming to the conclusion that there was no avoiding where this was going. "Okay, okay. I lied about the mission information. I have some ninja out to get me because of the work I do. An evil man named Gato has seized control over my village and we are suffering greatly. If the bridge I'm constructing gets completed, he'll no longer hold any power in our country. Which is why he is trying everything he can to kill me and prevent me from constructing the bridge..." he said, shedding a few tears at the last part, visibly shaking with rage.

Naruto's eyes softened, then hardened once again with determination. "Kakashi-sensei, let's continue the mission."

Kakashi looked lazily at his student. "Naruto, this mission has now gone from a C-rank to a B, possibly A-rank. Do you have a good reason for wanting to continue?"

Naruto nodded, his eyes boring into Kakashi's one visible eye. "Yes. Though you guys don't know it, I had a sensei _before_ I graduated the academy. We only spent time together for about half a year, but he instilled into me the will to bring peace in this world."

He paused, looking down, gripping a hand into a fist. "That was his dream; to bring peace to this world." He looked back up at Kakashi with defiance and determination flaring in his cerulean eyes. "And his dream has become mine. The reason I fight is to bring peace to humanity. And if this man... Gato... is really causing all of this trouble, then I would be going against my ninja way if I decided to turn back now."

Kakashi seemed taken aback by Naruto's short monologue, as were the rest of Team Seven and Tazuna. Mentally adding Naruto some respect points, Kakashi turned to the rest of his team. "Well guys, what do you think?"

Sasuke grunted defiantly. "I agree with Naruto. Let's keep going."

Sakura looked unsure of herself, but seeing Sasuke quickly give the response to go on, she nodded her head also.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask at his three students. "Alright then." He faced Tazuna. "Well Tazuna, it looks like we'll still be accompanying you on this mission after all."

Tazuna was in utter shock. He snapped out of his daze and wept in front of Team Seven. "Thank you all so much! I promise I'll pay you in full when I finish the bridge and our economy stabilizes once again!"

Team Seven all sweat-dropped, while Kakashi just waved a hand aside. "Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on getting to Wave, shall we?"

And with everything sorted out for now, they all continued on their journey to Tazuna's home country, leaving the Demon Brothers tied to a tree where they were to be picked up by another Konoha team.

_*****A Few Hours Later, Near Wave Country*****_

Team Seven and Tazuna were now in a boat, being steered by paddle by a boatsmen whom Tazuna knew and trusted. They had met up with him at the shoreline of the ocean separating Fire Country and Wave Country. Now they were all close to seeing Wave for themselves.

Though it was just now beginning to show signs of the day turning to evening, a mist had enveloped the water around them, making eyesight a minumum.

"Are we almost there?" Sakura asked to Tazuna.

The old man nodded in response. "Yes. We are very close. In fact, the bridge should be coming into view very soon."

Not even ten seconds later, a large strut appeared as a shadow through the thick mist. Naruto followed the strut up, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

The bridge was massive, to put it simply. The single largest architectural feat the genin had ever seen. Portions of the bridge had several missing materials. Through the openings of the unfinished parts of the bridge were several work boxes, tools of all kinds, and equipment.

Naruto found himself marvelling at the sight before him. Such a thing so massive; it looked as if God were making the bridge itself, just the right size that he would be able to walk on it, while it dwarfed anyone else who walked over it.

Naruto looked back at the constructor of such a colossal structure. The old man was smirking, clearly proud of his work done so far on the bridge. They passed under the huge construction, heading for the shoreline. They reached it with the thud of the boat hitting sand. everyone except for the boatman stepped on the soft sand of the Land of Waves.

Tazuna faced the boatman, bowing to him slightly. "Thank you for getting us here."

The boatman nodded to all of them. "Good luck Tazuna, you're gonna need it." And with that, he shoved off of the land and back out into the sea, heading downwards along the coast.

Tazuna faced the four ninja. "Alright, let's get going."

And so Team Seven and Tazuna went. Thirty minutes into their travel to Tazuna's village, a mist began to settle on their path. None of the team took notice, until Kakashi abruptly threw a kunai into a nearby bush. The bush rustled, and out came a frightened white rabbit.

The three genin and Tazuna looked to Kakashi to explain why he had done so, but they tensed when they heard the _whoosh_-ing sound of something flying through the mist. "Duck!" Kakashi yelled. Instinct took over them as Naruto and Sasuke hit the dirt, followed by Sakura after getting Tazuna down also.

Naruto spared a glance up, just in time to see what looked like a huge knife fly over them and impale itself into a nearby tree. It was followed by a blur of movement. All eyes snapped to the sword and the man standing on top of it as the mist began to dissipate.

A lean and muscular man stood on the oversized butcher knife. His black ninja pants and sleeveless shirt hung loosely on his body. Elbow-length gloves adorned his hands, and his face was covered from chin to nose in bandages. His black eyes, the same color as his short and spiky hair, held no remorse, pity, or regret in them. He wore a sideways headband, a slash through the symbol for The Village Hidden in the Mist. "How about you hand over the bridge builder there, nice and easy, so no one goes home minus an appendage." he said in a deep and dark voice.

Kakashi's features hardened as he took in the man on the giant sword several yards away. "Zabuza Momochi. Demon of the Hidden Mist. Ex-member of the Seven Swordsmen of The Hidden Mist. S-rank missing-nin for planning a coup d'état against the Fourth Mizukage."

The man identified now as Zabuza let out a laugh that sounded more ominous and menacing than anything Naruto had ever heard before. "Kakashi the Copy Ninja. Rumored to have copied over a thousand jutsu with his secret weapon; the Sharingan."

All three genin's heads snapped to Kakashi, each showing surprise, especially Sasuke. Kakashi lifted his headband above his left eye, closing his right eye in the process. When his left eye opened, the iris was crimson red, with three tomoes in triangular positions around the black pupil.

Zabuza smirked behind the face wrap. "I'm honored Kakashi. Already bringing out the Sharingan to fight me, eh?" He let out a dry cackle, sounding something like a choking cat mixed with a maniacal tone.

Kakashi leveled into his fighting stance. "Team, guard the bridge builder. I'll take care of Zabuza." He gave them a stern glare when Sasuke and Naruto were both about to interject.

Zabuza hopped off of his huge sword and effortlessly pulled it out of the tree. "Let's see if you are all that the bingo book makes you to be Kakashi." He made a single hand sign. **"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"** In a matter of mere seconds, the Leaf-nin and Tazuna were swept over by a thick mist that rolled in from no where.

Team Seven's genin formed a tight circle around Tazuna, ready for when Zabuza came for them. Kakashi's eyes scanned the mist carefully. Even with his Sharingan, he could only see a few feet in front of him. _'This mist. It must be chakra laced. It's the only thing that the Sharingan can't see completely through.'_

His thoughts were interrupted by another sinister chuckle that echoed from everywhere in the mist. "Heart." Zabuza's voice echoed from Kakashi's left. "Spine." the voice said from his right. "Jugular." it said again from behind him.

Kakashi turned in every direction the voice seemed to come from, only for it to change positions with the next word that came. "Clavical artery. Lungs. Liver. Kidneys. Seven points on the body that causes instant death. I wonder which way I should kill you."

Meanwhile, Team Seven was on full alert, their eyes scanning the mist, although it wasn't as thick around them as it was where their sensei was. "Hey Sasuke, did you know that Kakashi had the Sharingan?" Naruto asked, to which the raven shook his head.

"I did not. The Sharingan is strictly limited to the Uchiha clan. It's a dojutsu that allows the wielder to anticipate any ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu attack, and copy it down to its simplest levels. But... I wonder how Kakashi-sensei got one..." Sasuke answered.

Back with Kakashi, he was fed up with Zabuza's taunting and was on full alert for any attack. In a sudden burst of movement, Kakashi dodged to the side just as the giant butcher knife sliced into the ground where he stood just moments ago.

Kakashi rushed the ex-Kiri nin, a kunai poised to kill. Zabuza side-stepped bringing the gargantuan sword down on the cyclops. Kakashi reacted just in time to block the sword strike, the force from the blow pushing him away from Zabuza.

Kakashi glared at the swordsman. who returned his glare. Zabuza rushed in again, his large sword poised to deal a definite killing blow. Kakashi rushed to meet him, the engagement ending with the same result as Kakashi skidded away from Zabuza.

Zabuza at some point released his mist jutsu, and began going through a long series of hand seals. Kakashi performed the same hand seals, keeping equal pace with the missing nin. Team Seven and Tazuna could only think one thought; _'So fast!'_

The two fighting ninja finished with the same hand seal, yelling out simultaneously, **"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"** From the water around the area rose two roaring dragons composed of water, glaring the other down with yellow eyes. Both of the jutsu surged forward colliding in an explosion of water, resulting in a rain shower.

"Enough of this Zabuza!" Kakashi yelled, making three hand seals, his arm coating in lightning. "I'll finish this with one of my only original jutsu!" He rushed forward towards the ex-Mist nin.

Zabuza, having no time to evade, did the next best thing and tried to block with his sword. Kakashi reached him, his electrified arm held out to harm Zabuza. **"Lightning Blade!" **Kakashi yelled as his jutsu hit the sword.

For an instant, nothing gave way, but after the first few seconds, the huge knife of Zabuza's cracked from the extensive pressure of the lightning jutsu. Zabuza's eyes widened in fear as the technique hit him in the chest, piercing him.

Kakashi glared at the S-rank criminal in front of him with an unemotional stare. His face contorted to discomforting confusion when Zabuza smirked before turning into water. _'A water clone.'_ Kakashi thought.

As soon as the last of the water from the clone hit the ground, the mist returned, as did the raspy chuckle of Zabuza. "You put up a good fight Kakashi. Even if it was only a clone, it is still a great feat to carve through my Executioner."

"Still, I can't hope to beat you without backup unfortunately. I'm not stupid; fighting you alone would be dangerous, but coupled with your team, it's quite possibly suicide. But I love a good fight. More than the money for this damned job... So I'll give you five days time to prepare yourselves for another meet. And I'll bring friends. I'm sure you're already acquainted with the Demon Brothers, are you not? And you have yet to meet my greatest tool..."

The mist began to fade, the voice becoming distant. "Don't disappoint Kakashi." were Zabuza's parting words as the mist vanished all together.

Kakashi let out a tired sigh. He walked back to his team, who had lowered their guard the moment the mist had disappeared. "Well, that was interesting." was all their sensei could say.

Sasuke stepped forward. "Kakashi-sensei, how do you have the Sharingan?"

Kakashi was about to give an excuse, but Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Let's hold the question's for now. We have to focus on getting to Tazuna's house. Then we can ask all of our questions."

Scowling slightly, but nodding regardless, Sasuke dropped the subject. Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "Alright Tazuna, we can continue on our journey once again. Which way to your home?"

The trip to Tazuna's house was criminal-free the rest of the way there. They arrived just in time to see a woman with long black hair rush out of the house and hug the old man. "Father! You made it back!"

Tazuna smiled gently at her. "Of course I did. Though I have these fine ninja here to thank for it."

He turned to Team Seven. "This is my daughter, Tsunami. My grandson, Inari, is around here somewhere... I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

He gestured for them to come forth. "C'mon inside so we can discuss all the preparations we need to make for the upcoming week."

And so Team Seven entered Tazuna's house. It was a quaint little home; not too fancy nor too plain. Everyone sat in the living area. Tazuna and Tsunami sat on the sofa, Team Seven sat in chairs around a coffee table, and Kakashi sat in a chair facing the rest of the people.

Sasuke was the first to speak. "Now that we are here, answer my question from earlier; how do you have a Sharingan?"

Kakashi's shoulders slumped, his one visible eye flashing from carefree to pained. "It was a gift from a comrade. He was an Uchiha, and he died during the Third Shinobi World War... He gave his eye as a gift. He told me that I was worthy to wield it."

Sasuke nodded his head, accepting the answer. Sakura took her turn to speak. "Kakashi-sensei, what are we going to do about Zabuza?"

The jonin shrugged. "Don't worry. I'll make sure all of you are at least ready for a fight, which means we will be doing some training during our stay here. I'm going to need all of you to be able to handle your own in a fight, because it will be life or death out there." he reminded his genin.

Naruto spoke next. "Zabuza said that he would return with friends, the Demon Brothers being two of them. We probably should have made sure they got picked up before we left them there.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, a terrible mistake on my part. I should have been more wary of what I was doing back there, but never-the-less, you and Sasuke handled them pretty well, so they shouldn't be that big of a threat when the fight comes."

Tazuna spoke nervously. "Excuse me Kakashi, but is there any possibility that Zabuza might come to my house?" he asked fearfully.

Kakashi closed his eye, thinking it over. After a minute, he reopened it, saying, "I do not believe so. He said that he wanted a fun battle the next time we met, and he would give us five days to prepare for the battle. Even though he was hired to kill the bridge builder, the challenge of facing a worthy opponent comes above getting a paycheck for him, I guess."

"Now," Kakashi continued, "today, we will rest since we just finished our long journey. Tomorrow morning, meet here at eight o'clock so we can go out and begin training." He turned to Tazuna. "I hope you don't mind us staying here Tazuna."

The bearded man shook his head. "Not at all, not at all. We only have one spare room, though."

Kakashi nodded. "That's fine. Sakura can just room with Tsunami, if that's okay with her," he received a nod as a response, "and the boys and I will take the spare room."

Tazuna nodded. "Alright then. And thank you for all you people are doing. We really do appreciate your service."

Kakashi waved him of with a hand. "Don't mention it." He turned to his team. "Alright team, we'll be staying here for the next week, so go ahead and get situated into your rooms."

As he said these words, he began to ascend a staircase with Tazuna leading and Naruto and Sasuke in tow, while Tsunami led Sakura to her room to situate herself.

_*****The Next Morning, 8:30*****_

Team Seven had met up at eight o'clock exactly, surprising all the genin when Kakashi was actually downstairs waiting for them. From there they had eaten a simple breakfast and proceeded to a small clearing in the forest around Tazuna's house.

"Alright," Kakashi said to his three students, "we will be working on the tree climbing exercise."

Sakura raised her hand. "But Kakashi-sensei, we already know how to climb trees..."

Kakashi wagged a finger. "That is true, but can you do it without using your hands?" As if to express his argument visually, he nonchalantly walked to the nearest tree, and began to ascend it by walking up the side until he was completely upside down beneath a branch.

He dropped down, landing in a crouch. "Now, I want all of you to practice running up the tree. Keep in mind that you must keep a steady flow of chakra going to your feet; too little and you won't stick, and too much and you'll blast off of the tree."

He took out three kunai, throwing them down at the genins' feet. "Mark your progress on the tree with these kunai."

Sasuke and Sakura immediately took to their new task, running up the tree and slashing at it when they fell from it. Naruto was the only one who remained in his place. "Kakashi-sensei, I already know how to do the tree climbing and water walking exercises."

Kakashi looked mildly impressed. "Would you mind showing me then?"

Naruto obliged by scaling up a tree equal to ten stories in less than a few seconds. Kakashi nodded. "Alright Naruto, you can come down now."

With a steep dive and rolling flip, Naruto landed on his feet, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Nice job. You're free to go back to the house then while I work with these two."

Naruto shook his head. "Actually Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to go and train for a while longer by myself. And besides... I've been working on a special jutsu of my making!" the blonde said with a sly grin before dashing off into the forest.

Kakashi stared at the spot where Naruto had disappeared into the foliage. He chuckled lightly, _'Just like his father.'_

Turning back to his two remaining students, Kakashi smiled inwardly at the hard work they were putting in. While Sasuke was only a quarter way up his tree, Sakura had scaled it completely, and was sitting on one of the branches.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all." the cyclops said to himself.

_*****A Few Hours Later*****_

"Huh... huh... huh... Almost... Got it... Down..." Naruto half-spoke half-panted as he stood among several trees in the dense forest. Surrounding him were several shuriken and kunai. Oddly enough, Naruto had almost no scratches on him.

He made three more shadow clones, one for himself and two to do the exercise. The group of two clones stood a considerable distance apart. One jumped into the air, while the other threw several kunai at him, all on a trajectory that will hit.

The airborne clone did a single hand seal, and he jumped again while in the air, making him go higher and avoiding the kunai completely. The clone landed on his feet, and smile of victory on both of their faces before they disappeared in plume a smoke.

Naruto did the same thing with his clone partner, ending with the clone not going anywhere once he got airborne and getting dispelled by the kunai that were sent at it.

Naruto frowned at the results. "Guess I still need to work on it some more..."

"Hey, Naruto!"

The blonde faced the direction from where his name was called. Kakashi stood leaning against a tree, his book in hand. "C'mon. Let's go back."

Grunting a tired agreement, Naruto and Kakashi made their way back to Tazuna's home.

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter XI: Waves of Justice**


	12. Bloodline Chapter 11

Yo.

How's it going? Early update for me finishing the writing of another chapter. This is also my longest chapter so far. Almost 7,500 words.

Okay, news flash for all of you readers out there. I've noticed a lot of you don't want Hinata in the harem while some of you do. The solution is easy to me; I'm going to let you decide. This way, I still have time to shape the story for whatever outcome you guys choose,and you all can't jump down my ass about what decision I chose because I left it up to you guys. So yes or no to Hinata? Poll is on my profile.

Alright, this is the chapter with the good fighting and what not. Naruto's jutsu are revealed and he gains a new ability thanks to his bloodline. I'm sure you can guess what it is, lol. Hope you enjoy it. Haven't written a lot of fight scenes so please review and tell me what you thought.

So yeah. l3eatdown. New chapter. **Bloodline**. You. Read. Review. NAO! :P

* * *

**Chapter XI: Waves of Justice**

_*****The Third Day*****_

Back at the temporary base of operations that is Tazuna's living room, Team Seven was relaxing after a long and hard day of training.

Sasuke managed to complete the tree climbing exercise at the end of the first day. As a result, Kakashi furthered his training by teaching him a more empowered version of the **Fireball Jutsu**, the **Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu**.

Sakura, thanks to her low reserves of chakra and abnormal chakra control, was given a basic scroll on medical ninjutsu from Kakashi. She didn't have much of a grasp on it yet, but she could revive some withered flowers with effort.

Naruto was a mystery to everyone. Everyday since they started training, he went to train by himself out in the forest. Kakashi, on more than one occasion, had tried to spy on his student to see his progress, but every time he came up empty-handed, either by Naruto finishing his training, or the blonde noticed him and stopped what he was doing until Kakashi left.

Currently, everyone was sitting around the dinner table, talking about plans for the upcoming fight in a couple of days, and what to do with Gato. All of them had taken a trip into the town, and the sights of children sleeping in the alleys, food stands having outrageous prices, and people starving hardened their resolve to stop this terrible man.

Naruto was as laid back as ever, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke all wore serious expressions, and Tazuna and Tsunami were fidgeting nervously. "You all have made leaps and bounds in your training. I'm very proud of all of you." Kakashi said to his three students. "Now, we need to discuss what we are going to do come two days time."

He clasped his hands together below his chin. "Now, as you know, their main target is Tazuna. However, as we have learned, Zabuza is a man who seeks the thrill of battle, so he will most likely try to finish us off first, then go for Tazuna."

"We can use this to our advantage. Since he, and anyone else he brings, will be fighting us solely, we can spare more people to fight, so Sakura, since you are just now learning to grasp medical ninjutsu and you have the lowest reserves out of us all, you will be the only one to guard Tazuna. Understood?" the silver-haired jonin said to the pinkette, who nodded in response.

"Now, we have to leave someone here to protect Tsunami and Inari." he said next.

Naruto interjected. "I can cover that with my shadow clones."

"Well," Kakashi said while going back into a more relaxed position with his hands behind his head, "I guess that solves that problem."

Sasuke posed his question. "What will we do with Gato when we get him?"

"Who cares. You're all going to die anyways. No one can beat Gato."

Everyone turned to stare at a Inari who was staring angrily at the ninja in the house. Naruto spoke to him, feeling the need to reassure him. "We will defeat Gato. And we'll do it without anyone dying."

Inari's face contorted in absolute anger, his voice cracking as he yelled at Naruto, "What do you know!? Gato took my father away from me! You don't know anything about what it's like to be alone or feel pain! How can you say that!?"

The entire room temperature dropped a few degrees. Everyone shivered from it, turning to try to find its source. All eyes fell upon Naruto, his bangs covering his eyes, his expression blank. He picked up his head to show his eyes, and what Team Seven and the Tazuna household saw made them gasp.

Naruto's eyes had changed completely from the ocean blue iris to a blood-red orb with a black slit in the center. So many emotions swelled in his eyes: anger, rage, pain, sadness, and most of all loneliness. "I'm going out to let off some steam." he said, his voice neutral, his expression still blank. And just like that, he was out of the house.

The temperature returned to normal, but the quivering and shaking of everyone's bodies didn't stop. Kakashi was the only one who was unaffected by it. He turned his visible eye to Inari, glaring at him. "You couldn't be any more wrong boy. Naruto knows more pain and suffering than any of us in here."

Everyone gave him their undivided attention and silently gave him the okay for him to continue. He did so. "Alright, I'm not going into specifics, but Naruto has had a rough life. He was kicked out of the orphanage by his fifth birthday, lived on the streets for about three months before we found him extremely malnourished and frail, was continuously harassed by the villagers, and got beatings every year on his birthday. Oh, and he also never knew his parents. And that is just the short, watered-down version." Kakashi said, keeping his voice carefully neutral while telling the short but disturbing version of Naruto's life.

Everyone in the room felt sick to their stomachs after hearing the life that Naruto had to live. "But," Kakashi continued, "Naruto never let it show that he was depressed. He always had a smile on his face. He was always nice to everyone, well, mostly everyone. He grew a sense of humor by pulling pranks on the people who treated him the worst. And even though I've only known him as a student for a few weeks, I can tell that he strives to become strong, and no matter the obstacle, he'll overcome it."

Kakashi rose up from his seat. "I'm going to go and look for him. I want you to think on my words." he said to Inari before he left to go find his blonde student.

_*****Meanwhile, In the Forest*****_

"RRAAAAAAHHH!" _boom!_

Another crater created at the hands of Naruto. The blonde stood there in the center of a clearing, or what used to be a clearing before it became littered with mortar-sized hole, breathing heavily. He collapsed onto a part of the ground that wasn't destroyed, feeling a wave of exhaustion hit him.

He was just about to drift into unconsciousness when he heard the gasp of someone nearby. Being a ninja, his head snapped up, immediately on alert, searching for who had made the sound. He found his answer in the form of a very pretty girl standing at the edge of the former clearing. She wore a pink dress shirt with shin-length pants, had flowing black hair, and a basket full of herbs in it. She cautiously made her way to Naruto.

"Hello." the stranger said to Naruto.

He acknowledged with a wave of his hand, saying, "Hey! How are you doing miss?"

The lady shook her head with an amused smile. "I am fine. What is your name?"

Naruto jabbed a thumb to his chest. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! What's yours?" he said, extending his hand to shake.

The girl obliged by extending her own hand and they shook. "Haku." Haku then took notice of Naruto's headband. "Would you happen to be a ninja?"

Naruto glanced up at his forehead protector above his head, and proudly stated, "Yep! I'm a ninja of The Hidden Leaf! I was actually training earlier before you came."

Haku gave him a questioning look. "What were you training for?"

"Well," he began, "I'm actually on a mission to protect this bridge builder while he finishes constructing a bridge so he can rid his country of the tyrant Gato."

Naruto saw Haku's eyes widen in shock and then harden at his words. _'What is she hiding?'_ Naruto thought. Going on a hunch, he asked her a question. "Hey Haku, why are you out here anyways? I know you must have heard all the explosions from my training."

Haku hesitated at first, which Naruto noted, but then she spoke while nodding her head. "Yes, I heard the explosions and came here to see what was happening. As for why I was out here, I work in a clininc, so I was collecting herbs for healing creams and the such."

Naruto caught everything with his lie-detecting eyes. He now knew she was lying about being a clinical worker and coming out here just to collect herbs. He would just have to play along for now.

Naruto waved it off. "I see, I see, but anyways, that's not the only reason I was training..." Naruto said as his eyes were glued to somewhere in the distance.

Haku raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Naruto let a faint smile grace his lips. Turning to Haku, said girl suddenly felt a wave of calmness and serenity wash over her. As she began to relax, she realized that the source was Naruto. "I train to be strong, so I can bring peace to this planet and protect all of those whom I consider precious."

Haku smiled at him. "I see. That is a noble cause to become stronger. I believe that true strength comes from loving and protecting those that are precious to you."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I believe that too."

They lapsed into a few moments of peaceful silence, until Haku stood up. "Well, it was nice to meet you Naruto, but I must return to my duties. And by the way, I'm a boy."

As Haku turned to walk away, he was stopped by Naruto calling her name. The teenager turned to see the blonde standing away from her, his hands shoved into his pockets, his expression serious. "Firstly, I know you're a girl. I can tell when people are lying. And secondly, you do know that the next time we meet, we'll be fighting, right?"

Haku tensed, then slid three senbon from her shirt into her hands between her fingers. "How did you know?"

Naruto waved a hand at her. "Relax, if I wanted to attack you, I would have. As for how I knew, you can say it was a hunch." he said with a sly grin.

"Indeed." was the girl's response as she lowered his guard.

"Tell me, Haku," Naruto said, his face becoming serious again, "why do you work for Gato? Why do all of you work for Gato? You don't seem like a bad person, so why?"

Haku's hardened gaze softened as she spoke the words, "I do it because of Master Zabuza. He took me in when I had no one. I am indebted to him. So whatever decisions he makes, good or bad, I will follow through with them."

Naruto nodded. "I understand. You're 'protecting someone precious to you,' is that right?" Haku nodded in response.

Naruto let genuine smile grow on his face. "Well then, if your conviction about protecting your precious people is as strong as my conviction to bring peace to the world, then there's no way I can change your mind. However, after our fight in a few days, I hope that we can still be friends, assuming we still live."

Haku was expecting anything but that answer. Here was this boy, the enemy no less, saying that he supported her reasons for fighting and that he wanted to be friends! Haku smiled and tried to fight back a blush as she replied to Naruto. "Thank you. You are very interesting Naruto Uzumaki. I hope that we both live to be friends as you said."

She turned around, giving a short glance back at Naruto. "See you when the time is right... friend." And with that Haku was gone in a blur of shadow.

Naruto was about to continue with his training now that he was rested from his time with Haku, but he was interrupted by his sensei's emergence into the destroyed clearing. "Naruto, you alright?"

Naruto looked at his sensei with a blank stare, but he broke out into a soft smile. "Yeah. I suppose I am."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Anyways... C'mon. Let's go back. We still have a lot of planning to do."

Naruto nodded without saying a word, and they both made way to Tazuna's house once again, Naruto thinking about the new friend he found in Haku.

_*****The Fifth Day*****_

_'Today is the day.'_ Naruto thought as he woke up earlier than the others on the day the bridge was supposed to finish... And the day that Zabuza made his move.

Team Seven had improved greatly individually in only a weeks time. Their teamwork still needed much improvement (Cough Sasuke's superiority issues cough) but they would improve on that after the current mission.

He was concerned about his newest friend, Haku. He hoped that he wouldn't have to fight her to the death. He didn't want to have to kill a new friend.

He walked down the flight of stairs, expecting to be the first one down, but to his surprise, Inari was waiting at the foot of the stairs, staring up at him. "Naruto..." he said, "I just want to say I'm sorry for the words I said the other night. Kakashi told me about your life and how hard it's been. I'm sorry." The poor boy broke down right in front of Naruto, crying on the floor. "Great, now you'll probably think that I'm a crybaby..."

Inari felt a hand on his head. Through tears, he looked up Naruto. The blonde had a genuine smile on his face. "Inari, I don't want you to apologize to me."

Inari wiped away his tears. "What do you want me to do then?"

"I want you to be strong for your mother. I want you to strive to do what you want against all odds, like I did. And I want you to stop being depressed. We _will_ defeat Gato, and you _will_ have a happier life. Believe it!"

Inari wiped the remaining tears away, smiling up at his new hero. "Thank you Naruto! I won't disappoint!" he said, running back up the stairs to his room.

Naruto smiled fondly at the boy. When he disappeared into his room, Naruto went back to what he was doing moments before. Getting some training done before they had to leave.

Team Seven and Tazuna were now on their way to the bridge to finally, and hopefully, complete it. Naruto had left a total of three of his clones back at the house to make sure that none of Gato's men came and tried to take Tsunami and Inari as incentive.

They arrived at the bridge to find that no one was there; all the equipment, some still running, was abandoned, not a single trace of life anywhere to be seen.

"Looks like Zabuza got here before us. Must have scared off the rest of the workers so they wouldn't interfere with our fight." Kakashi said to them as a thick mist rolled in over the bridge. Out of said mist came Zabuza, followed by the Demon Brothers, and another who, by the looks of it, was a fake hunter-nin.

"Glad to see you came Kakashi. Don't worry about the other workers. We only scared them off."

Kakashi nodded, then turned to his team. "Team, Formation Alpha!" Team Seven all shifted positions so that Kakashi was in the lead with Naruto and Sasuke on either side, Sakura behind him, and Tazuna in the rear. (think of the formation the Pains used in the battle between Naruto and the five remaining Paths of Pain)

Zabuza heaved his large sword onto his shoulder. "My fight is with Kakashi. Gozu, Meizu, take care of the two brats at his sides. Haku, you can take the bridge builder. The kunoichi has no way of beating you anyways."

The three nodded in response, all shooting towards their targets. Haku and Gozu shot off in Sasuke's direction, one heading around and the other heading for him. Sasuke looked back and forth between the two. He had to move fast. Thinking about the mission first, he moved to intercept Haku with a few shuriken.

Haku had to stop her progress and backflip several times to avoid all the shuriken. However, this action left Gozu a clear shot at an unguarded Sasuke. Sasuke looked up at the giant claw that was about to crash into him and tear him apart. He watched as everything slowed as the razor claw came down on him.

**"Wind Style: Tornado Fist!" **_CRACK!_

Gozu's gauntlet shattered as it was hit by a wind chakra punch from Naruto. The blonde followed up by landing another punch to the ninja's gut sending him reeling back from the blow. Naruto turned to a slightly stunned Sasuke. "Go and take Haku. I got these two." He then jumped after the recovered Gozu, who was fighting another two Naruto's.

Sasuke looked over to where his teammate was originally. He saw the other brother, Meizu, fighting at least four Narutos, having some trouble with all of 'him.' _'Shadow clones, of course. I've got to get him to teach that to me...'_ the raven thought before turning his attention to Haku, who now had six senbon positioned between each of her fingers.

"It seems I must go through you to complete my objective." were her only words as she let loose the senbon on Sasuke.

_*****Kakashi vs. Zabuza*****_

"Well Kakashi, looks like we'll see if your kids can handle Haku and those brothers. In the mean time..." Zabuza said as he hefted his menacing sword into a kenjutsu stance.

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, his Sharingan eye blazing. Kakashi wasted no time in going through a few hand signs at unbelievable speeds. **'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!'** he yelled in his mind as he expelled five miniature fireballs that rocketed towards Zabuza.

The nuke-nin rushed through his own hand signs before shouting, **"Water Style: Water Wall Barrier!"** A thick wave of water rose up materialized out of the mist in front of Zabuza, neutralizing Kakashi's fire jutsu. As soon as the wall of water fell, Zabuza rushed Kakashi with his Executioner pointed forward to run clear through the man.

Kakashi had enough time to jump out-of-the-way just as the sword and it's holder shot by him, disappearing back into the mist. He stood there alone now, surrounded by the unnerving thick mist. _'This is bad. He has the complete advantage since he can use the mist to make water jutsu easily. Of course, he has to lessen the technique to do so, but to be able to keep it going even while doing another jutsu is truly amazing...'_

Kakashi did a back bend just as Zabuza's blade swung right where his head was a moment ago. Performing a backflip, he stared down the ex-Kiri ninja. Said ninja let out a disappointed grunt. "C'mon Kakashi, I expected more from you. If you aren't going to put up a good fight, then I'll just kill the bridge builder. You're the only reason I haven't gone after him yet."

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "Or maybe you just need some incentive to come at me with the intent to actually fight..." As he finished his sentence, Zabuza shot off towards Tazuna, who paled to the color of Hyuga eyes at the sight of Zabuza running at him.

Kakashi wasted no time in running through a short series of handseals. Slamming his hand on the ground he pronounced, **"Summoning Jutsu!"** In a large puff of smoke, Zabuza stood immobilized by a pack of nindogs that had effectively pinned his body by biting very joint that could make movement possible.

Kakashi held up a kunai. "It's over Zabuza. Surrender now!" However, the missing-nin just smiled cruelly before dissolving into water. _'Dammit! A water clone!' _Kakashi screamed in his head, as he dodged to the side to avoid being cut in two.

Zabuza jumped at Kakashi, who held up his kunai to block the predicted kunai attack, but instead was grappled by Zabuza as he made a one hand seal. **"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"** The jutsu was instantaneous, absorbing the mist to make a dome of condensed water around Kakashi.

_'I... can't move!'_ was Kakashi's panicked thought as he saw another Zabuza form out of water just behind him. The water clone brought his Executioner up, and then brought it down right on Kakashi's head through the water jutsu.

As the blade hit Kakashi, he suddenly disappeared from the barrier, leaving two very confused Zabuzas. The real Zabuza released his water jutsu as well as his clone, wondering what had happened. It was then that he used his reflexes to catch an incoming kunai from his right aimed straight at his temple.

Zabuza spared a sideways glance at Kakashi, who was standing on one side of the bridge as if he had never been in Zabuza's water jutsu at all.

Realization hit Zabuza, and he began to chuckle darkly. "Impressive Kakashi. You used your Sharingan to copy my **Water Clone** technique, and you substituted yourself with it before I captured you in my jutsu. Your finally living up to my expectations." Zabuza said with a dark glint in his eyes.

Kakashi said nothing in return, instead running straight on to meet his enemy. Zabuza wasted no time as well, running forward to clash with Kakashi. The two met each other halfway, engaging in a battle between sword and kunai.

_*****Naruto vs. The Demon Brothers*****_

"This kid is fucking annoying..." said an irate Gozu as he punched a Naruto clone while receiving a punch to the face by another in return. Meizu nodded at his brother, cutting a clone in half with his gauntlet and getting kicked in the gut by another.

The real Naruto just watched from a distance with an amused expression. He had summoned at least thirty clones to attack either opponent, and he was just letting them wear themselves out before he wrapped things up.

"Fuck this!" Meizu shouted, detaching his gauntlet and running over to his brother. Gozu recognized what his brother planned, and they both locked arms in a reverse elbow lock. **"Water Style: Demon Cyclone!"** they both shouted, and began to spin around in a circle, a torrent of water spiraling upwards to cover them. The Naruto clones surrounding them were sucked into the water twister, and dispelled on touch.

The two brothers stopped their technique, glaring at the last and real Naruto who had a slightly surprised look on his face due to the turn of events. He merely shrugged it off, making five more clones.

The Demon Brothers readied for another brawl, but were caught off guard by all the clones and the real Naruto making identical hand seals. They all stopped signing before aiming a pointed hand at the two, shouting in unison, **"Lightning Style: Lightning Dart!"** A thin burst of lightning shot forth from six hands, aimed straight for the two rogue ninja.

Once the attacks were released, the clones all dispelled, leaving a panting Naruto. _'Damn. Even with all of my training, that jutsu still takes a lot out of me.'_ he thought to himself as the darts impacted where the two brothers stood, creating an explosion.

Naruto held his breath, waiting to see if he had hit his mark. He silently cursed when he heard, **"Lightning Style: One Shot Jutsu!"** the blonde genin barely had enough time to jump out of the way before a bolt of lightning arced over the spot he was moments ago, continuing on to strike a nearby construction crane, causing an explosion and igniting it in flames.

Naruto whirled around to glare at the two brothers in slight surprise. _'One of them can use lightning jutsu too!?'_ he screamed mentally.

Gozu's fingertips sizzled with smoke for a few moments before he finally pulled his hand back. "I'm impressed kid. Not many people have the speed or reflexes to dodge that attack. You're one of the few people ever to witness my secondary affinity without dying moments later."

"C'mon. Let's finish this brat." Meizu said to his partner. Goza nodded, going through a string of hand seals. **"Lightning Style: One Shot Jutsu!"** Gozu called out again, but instead of aiming straight for Naruto, the bolt hit the ground under him.

The ground underneath Naruto exploded with TNT force, shooting said blonde into the air. Meizu took advantage of his vulnerability and threw several shuriken in the air at him. "It's over!" he shouted confidently.

Naruto watched as the eight or so shuriken sliced through the air straight for him. He mumbled something under his breath, then smirked, much to the confusion of the two brothers.

Before the shuriken hit home in Naruto's body, he leapt away from them, jumping higher into the air and avoiding them all. Gozu and Meizu were both stunned. "H-how?" Gozu questioned.

"Is that even possible?!" Meizu inquired.

Naruto landed in a graceful crouch, still smirking his fox-like grin. "**Wind Style: Platform**. An original jutsu that I created. Useful for moving around in midair."

Gozu and Meizu recovered from their shock. "So what? Just because you have a useful jutsu doesn't mean that we still can't take you our! Let's go Meizu, time to use our most powerful jutsu!" Gozu said.

"Right!" was Meizu's response. They locked arms in the reverse elbow lock again. And began to spin, only this time, the twister of water was crackling with lightning. **"Collaboration Jutsu: Demon Maelstrom!"**

The tornado of electrified water was bigger than the earlier jutsu like it. Once it was fully made, the natural disaster the brothers had conjured began to move at a fast pace towards Naruto.

Naruto cursed under his breath. He jumped away from the dangerous jutsu, but it followed him wherever he jumped, and it was getting closer and closer. His luck finally ran out when he tripped over one of the abandoned tool boxes that was lying on the ground. He looked up in fear at the horrific jutsu by the Demon Brothers as it crash into him, sending him rocketing away from them.

The two stopped their greatest jutsu, and looked triumphantly upon the downed blonde, his body burned slightly due to the lightning. "Heh!" Meizu bragged, "Finally got y-"

Before he could finish, Naruto burst in a cloud of smoke, shocking the ex-Mist ninja. "What!?" they both shouted.

"Surprise! **Wind Style: Tornado Fist**!"

Meizu and Gozu had no time to react as a they were both punched in the back by a wind chakra punch courtesy of Naruto.

They both were propelled forward by the force of the punch, landing on the ground, their gas masks fallen from their faces. Gozu was unconscious, but Meizu lifted his head a few inches off of the ground. "But... How?... How did you do it?" he asked, struggling to stay awake.

Naruto let his fox grin return as he spoke. "Simple. Before your jutsu hit me, I replaced myself with a Shadow Clone. And while you were busy looking at my clone and thinking that you won, I snuck up behind you and got you!"

Meizu just glared daggers at the blonde in front of him. "Da-... Dammit..." he said, letting his head fall back down and letting the sleep overcome him.

Naruto's smirk disappeared when he saw the Meizu had passed out. He looked over at his two fighting comrades. Kakashi was in a showdown with Zabuza, fighting for dominance, kunai against sword. Sasuke was trapped inside what looked like an open dome of mirrors or something. Deciding to help the teammate in the most immediate danger, Naruto rushed over to Sasuke, silently praying that he wasn't too late.

_*****Sasuke vs. Haku*****_

Haku unleashed her held senbon upon Sasuke, who easily deflected them with a kunai. The two went back and forth, clanging shuriken and senbon against each other for at least five minutes straight. During that time, Sasuke was watching for just the right opening to get a jutsu in and finish her.

_'Almost... THERE!'_ he shouted mentally as he ran through three quick seals and bringing a cupped hand to his mouth. **"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"** The fireball that Sasuke expelled was at least twice as big as its little brother, and equally as destructive.

**"Water Style: Hidden Water Jutsu!"** As Haku said the words, she began to sink into the puddle that he was standing on, disappearing just as the fireball zoomed over her. Haku reappeared through another puddle on the other side of Sasuke, making some irregular hand signs and shouting, **"Ice Style: A Thousand Needles of Death!"**

Sasuke barely had enough time to dodge as several spikes of ice impaled the floor where he was a moment earlier. He glared angrily at Haku, who had an emotionless expression on, although the team couldn't see it due to the mask.

"You have delayed me for long enough. Master Zabuza gave me a task, and you are keeping me from it." she said monotonously, flashing through four or five hand seals as several mirrors rose from the water and solidified into a dome around Sasuke. Haku then stepped into one of the mirrors, her reflections appearing on every single mirror in the dome. **"Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors."**

Sasuke prepared himself for whatever he would have to deal with. While he knew that fire could melt ice, he wasn't sure if his techniques were strong enough to melt the ice chakra.

Haku gripped senbon in her hands and her reflections followed suit. "Now. Prepare to die." she said as she let loose her held weapons from every mirror.

Sasuke dodged several of them, blocking a few of them with a kunai, but he still got hit by a good number. His movements were slowly becoming more sluggish as he took more and more hits, resembling a walking pincushion.

After another minute, he collapsed on the ground, succumbing to his injuries. Haku readied a last wave of senbon to finish him. Senbon flew from each mirror at the downed Uchiha, threatening to finish him for good.

**"Water Style! Protective Water Dome!"**

Naruto's voice rang through the air as a water sphere closed on Sasuke, protecting him from the rain of senbon. Haku looked at her first real friend with a sad expression behind his mask. "Naruto..."

"Hey Haku. How you doing?" the blonde asked nonchalantly. He released the water dome around Sasuke, who was still breathing tiredly. Naruto noticed that something was different about him now. "Hey Sasuke! You have your Sharingan!" he shouted at the Uchiha.

"I do?" he mumbled to himself, looking down into a puddle of water to see his reflection. His normally emotionless face formed a wide smile. "I do!" he said before collapsing from exhaustion.

"You relax for now. I got this from now on." Naruto said to him, turning back to Haku.

"Naruto," Haku began, "I don't want to have to fight you..."

"Neither do I, Haku, but you were ordered to kill the bridge builder, while I was ordered to protect him. It was bound to happen eventually." the blonde said, making sure that no emotion etched its way on to his face.

Haku took off her mask. She had a sad look in his eyes, but a smile on her lips. "Then let's see whose conviction is the strongest."

Naruto let a smirk cross his face. "That's the spirit!" he yelled as Haku jumped back into the mirror. "Oh no you don't!" he said, reaching at the mirror Haku had just stepped into.

"My ice technique is unbreakable. No one has been able to escape it." Haku informed him. It did nothing to stop Naruto, however, as his hand touched the glassy ice.

The next thing that happened shocked Haku. Not only did the mirror break, but it was absorbed into the boy's hand, like a black hole had opened up and sucked it out of existence. "B-but how!?"

"You aren't the only one with a bloodline Haku." Naruto smirked before cocking a wind chakra fist back. **"Wind Style: Tornado Fist!"** His fist shot forward, connecting with Haku's jaw and thus sending her catapulting away, skidding across the pavement of the bridge. When she finally stopped sliding, she didn't move any, but the slow rising of her chest indicated she was still alive.

Naruto let a long sigh escape his mouth. He slowly walked over to the still form of Haku. Said girl was lying on her back, her eyes barely open, some blood oozing out of her mouth.

Naruto, being the intelligent genin that he is, asked the smartest question in the world for the situation; "Are you okay?"

If Haku had the willpower to, she would have told the blonde off in the most vulgar way she knew how, but as it was, could only manage a slight nod of her head. "Na-...Naruto... How did... you break... my... greatest technique...?" he asked through ragged breaths.

Naruto sighed, his face a mask of emotionlessness. "I have a very special bloodline that allows me to absorb elemental jutsu and turn it into a secondary elemental affinity for me. It only works once, however, but that's all I need, since the chakra of the affinity I absorb is then rewritten into my DNA."

He bent down to help Haku sit up. "For example, your ice mirror I absorbed became a part of my DNA structure, so now I will be able to do ice style techniques. But if I were to try to absorb it again, it would fail. Understand?"

Haku, who was now sitting up on his own, nodded in understanding. "A truly impressive bloodline Naruto."

"That's quite interesting Naruto. At least now I know why you always went off to go train in the forest alone."

The two friends turned to see Kakashi, who looked worse for wear with several cut marks, and Zabuza, who was restrained by more nindogs, along with the Demon Brothers, who were now conscious and tied down with rope. The blonde smiled at his teacher. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei."

"Zabuza, you and your little team failed to do what I asked of you..." came a voice from the opposite end of the bridge.

All present that were conscious looked to the end of the bridge on the Wave side. There, in front of a few hundred bandits, was a short, pudgy man, wearing dark, circular glasses and a very expensive looking purple suit, and holding a walking cane.

Zabuza let a growl escape his throat. "Gato..."

"You useless excuses for missing-nin, I give you a simple job and you can't even do that right. Ah well, in truth, I was going to kill you all in the end and get your bounties after I was through with you." the pudgy man that was Gato said arrogantly.

The bridge was suddenly filled by the killing intent of four people. Zabuza, Haku, and the Demon Brothers' eyes were all red with anger. Zabuza regained his cool, and talked in a disturbingly calm voice to Kakashi. "Kakashi, I have no further quarrel with you. You beat me fair and square. And now that my employer has turned the tables on me, I no longer have any desire to kill the bridge builder. So if you would be so kind as to release me..."

Kakashi obliged, telling the nindogs to release Momochi. Said man reclaimed his sword as Kakashi untied the Demon Brothers and Naruto helped Haku stand up.

"What say we _cancel_ our business contract with Gato... Permanently." he said with an evil smirk.

The Demon Brothers cracked their knuckles and Haku formed some senbon out of ice.

"I want in on this too." Naruto said, to the surprise of everyone present.

Kakashi nodded and stood next to him. "Well, if my student is going to fight, it only makes sense that his sensei should fight alongside him."

Zabuza looked back and forth between the two before his eyes finally settled back on Gato. With a dark gleam in his eyes, he chuckled darkly. "Oh, this will be fun." he said as he charged forward with his sword over his head.

Gato stumbled backwards, breaking out into a sprint. "Kill them all!" he yelled, and the bandits surged forward, their weapons raised and ready to maim.

Th resulting clash was a total slaughter... of the bandits. Zabuza used his Executioner and **W****ater Clone** combination to dispatch all of his foes. The Demon Brothers spun rapidly as their electrified water vortex struck dozens of goons. Haku stayed back, throwing senbon at thugs with precision accuracy. Kakashi charged through the crowd, **L****ightning Blade** a blazing. And Naruto decimated any who came near him with his **Tornado Fists**.

Within minutes, the bandit force numbering in the hundreds was reduced to a few dozen or so. Gato, who had made his way to the back of the crowd of bandits, found himself eye to eye with Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist smiled cruelly. "Have fun in hell." he said, bringing Executioner down on Gato's head, cleaving him in half.

The rest of Gato's men stopped what they were doing before they shook with anger. "Hey! You killed our meal ticket!" one of them said.

"Yeah, we'll make you pay for that!" another called.

Meanwhile, Naruto had glazed look in his eyes. His eyes refocused, and he smirked. "I don't think so."

As he said the words, an arrow imbedded into the ground in front of the bandit group. Everyone looked up to see Inari with a small crossbow in hand, and behind him the entire village, all holding torches, pitchforks, clubs, and assorted medical tools used in castrating.

Needless to say, the remaining thugs jumped over the edge of the bridge to avoid certain doom at the hands of the villagers. After the last thug had jumped for his life, a chorus of cheers erupted as the civilians swarmed the shinobi on the bridge.

_*****End of the Week*****_

Team Seven, with help from the village, Zabuza, Haku, and the Demon Brothers, finished making the colossal bridge that very day. Naruto had explained to his team that his clones that were guarding Tazuna's house stopped some bandits from kidnapping them. After they did, Inari was very ambitious in wanting to help out somehow. So the clones suggested that he rally the town and meet at the bridge. The ending result was what happened at the bridge. Following the construction of the bridge were several parties in the village, to which all the shinobi and Tazuna were hosted to.

As for the two teams of shinobi, Kakashi got along well with Zabuza and the Demon Brothers, going out for drinks with them during the after parties on the village. Haku found friends in the genin of Team Seven, and they all spent their time hanging out and pranking, at the insistence of Naruto, to which Haku thoroughly enjoyed. Haku even taught Naruto how to manipulate ice and use it in jutsu.

Now, Team Seven was standing on the Wave side of the bridge, their belongings packed and ready for the return trip home. In front of them was Zabuza's group, Tazuna and family, and the entire Wave village. Tazuna spoke to them with a smile on his face. "I just want to say thank you again for all of your help. We are seriously in your debt." he said with a deep bow, and the civilians followed suit.

Kakashi waved them off. "Don't mention it."

"We were glad to help!" Naruto pitched in.

Inari walked up to him, teary-eyed. "You'll come and visit again, won't you?"

Naruto chuckled at his new title. "Sure. You bet." he said as Inari jumped around in excitement.

Zabuza, Haku, Gozu, and Meizu stepped up to the genin next. "You're alright kid." Zabuza told Naruto, "If you ever need someone... _disposed_ of, then come find me."

Naruto shivered at that, before turning to the brothers. "Hey guys, no hard feelings, right?"

Gozu and Meizu smirked under their masks. "Sure," Gozu spoke, followed by Meizu, "but the next time we meet, we'll be having a spar for sure."

The blonde laughed lightly. "Alright!" The three genin then turned to Haku.

Naruto held out his fisted hand, as did Sasuke and Sakura, all of them connecting in a small circle with one hole in it. They all looked expectantly at Haku, who nodded in acknowledgement, bringing her own fist into the group, completing the circle. "Hope to see you guys some time soon." she said to the team.

"You bet!/Sure./Hn." were the responses of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke respectively.

After all the goodbyes were said, Team Seven departed back for Konoha. Back at the bridge, the villagers watched the retreating forms of the shinobi. "Hey, what are we gonna name the bridge?" asked one of them, starting a mumble of questions from the villagers.

Tazuna spoke above them all. "How about 'The Great Naruto Bridge' for the boy who brought life back into the village."

This received several nods of agreement as Team Seven vanished beyond the horizon.

* * *

Original Jutsu and what not

**Wind Style: Tornado Fist**

_Rank: _B

_Description: Offensive wind element nintaijutsu. The user gathers wind chakra into their fists that swirl up to their forearms, giving the impression of a tornado. Can break or cut almost anything due to the wind chakra._

**Water Style: Demon Cyclone**

_Rank: S (The Demon Brothers of the Mist only)_

_Description: Area-of-effect water element ninjutsu. The Demon Brothers reverse lock elbows and spin at great speeds, creating a vortex of water used to defend against projectiles and attack enemies within its radius._

**Lightning Style: Lightning Dart**

_Rank: C_

_Description: Offensive mid-range lightning element ninjutsu. User shoots a burst of lightning chakra from his/her hand at the opponent._

**Lightning Style: One Shot Jutsu**

_Rank: A_

_Description: Offensive long-range lightning element ninjutsu. A bolt of electricity is shot forth from the users two hands, arching with incredible speeds to finish a target in one hit, hence the name._

**Wind Style: Platform**

_Rank: C_

_Description: Supplementary wind element ninjutsu. Forms a "platform" made of wind chakra that one can step on while in the air. Useful for dodging projectiles in mid-air._

**Collaboration Jutsu: Demon Maelstrom**

_Rank: S (Demon Brothers of the Mist only)_

_Description: Area-of-effect water and lightning element ninjutsu. A more powerful form of the __**Water Style: Demon Cyclone**__. The Demon Brothers reverse lock elbows and spin at great speeds to create a water cyclone imbued with Gozu's lightning chakra. Protects against any projectiles and allows users to move around, making it's offensive capabilities greater._

**Water Style: Protective Water Dome**

_Rank: C_

_Description: Defensive water element ninjutsu. Creates a watery dome to cover a target, protecting them from almost all blind spots._

* * *

Next chapter - **Chapter XII: Jiraiya the Toad Sage**


	13. Bloodline Chapter 12

Yo.

What's up guys? Me, oh, nothing much. Just midnight where I am, got an ACT to take at 8 o'clock in the morning my time, and I can't sleep. X/ So, to pass the time, I decided to post a new chapter for you all. Don't you just love me? l(n_n)l

Okay, this chapter introduces Jiraiya ahead of when he is brought into the anime/manga. Naruto gets a summoning contract, but get this: it isn't the toads! Don't worry though, I chose something that is very under-used and will tie into the story later. ;)

So yeah, new **Bloodline** coming your way!

* * *

p

**Chapter XII: Jiraiya the Toad Sage!**

Team Seven returned safely from their escort C-rank turned A-rank mission. They gave their report to the Hokage, who gave them a bonus for the turn of events on the mission. After the report, Team Seven was given the rest of the day off.

The following few weeks after the mission could be described as progressive, but boring. For Team Seven, they had improved greatly in their teamwork and friendship, with Sasuke smiling more often and Sakura losing her fangirl tendency, much to the relief of the Uchiha.

Currently, Team Seven had just been given they day off after once again capturing the demon spawn that is Tora the Cat. They all went their separate ways, thinking of ways to enjoy the day off. Naruto decided that he would get some more training done, especially with the exams they would be taking in a few days.

FLASHBACK, EARLIER THAT DAY

_Team Seven was training at Training Ground Seven, doing their normal routines and procedures. Once the practice session had ended, Kakashi called all of them over for a short discussion._

_"All three of you have shown great potential." he said, then addressing each student individually._

_"Sasuke, your ninjutsu and taijutsu skills have risen greatly. Along with learning a few new fire jutsu, your reflexes with the Sharingan have increased as well." Sasuke grinned, instead of arrogantly smirking as he would do. Spending time with Team Seven had really let the Uchiha open up to other people, and his attitude had made a complete 180. He now smiled and laughed more often, along with him and Naruto having a friendly rivalry over who is the most skilled. Normally they both would end up in a draw, however._

_"Sakura," the cycloptic jonin continued, "you have the most potential to become the medic of our group, due to your great chakra control and low chakra reserves. You might also have a special knack for genjutsu. We'll discuss more on this later, okay?" Sakura beamed with stars in her eyes from the praise. She slyly stole a glance at Sasuke. While she no longer had her fangirl tendencies, she still had a huge crush on the raven._

_"And Naruto," Kakashi addressed his final student, "I must say, you have surprised me the most. With your bloodline, you have almost unlimited potential. You might just make your dream of becoming Hokage come true." Naruto genuinely smiled at his sensei. Every chance he got, he would spend time with his team or friends outside of his team. It made him giddy inside to think that he had so many people who accepted him. _

_'Even if they don't know about the fox yet...' he thought sadly. He and the fox now talked more often. After an incident when a bandit got the jump on him and left a large gash in him, the fox influenced its chakra on Naruto to heal him, and they met once again. Naruto and the fox made small talk about several different things, and the fox suggested setting up a mental link between them so they could interact even when Naruto was awake._

_Kakashi looked at his three genin with a serious look in his eye. "Now, this is important. You all know about the chunin exams, right?" They all nodded. "Good. Well, I've decided on entering the three of you." he said, shocking all three of them._

_"B-but Kakashi-sensei, we're only rookies!" Sakura protested._

_Kakashi nodded. "I know, but I believe you three are capable of handling the it. I told you three of your improvements because I believe you can all handle yourselves in the exams." _

_He pulled out three forms. "Now, these are the registration papers. You are to sign these and give them back to me. Also, Sasuke, for legal purposes, you are NOT to use your sharingan to copy any jutsu without another's consent, or you'll be disqualified, and most likely put on trial. Understand?" Kakashi said, making the Uchiha gulp and nod._

_"Good. The exams take place in a few days. Until then, you all have the rest of the week off until the exams. Later!" he said, disappearing with the Body Flicker._

FLASHBACK END

It made the blonde happy to know that his sensei had such faith in his team. He was brought out of his own musings by a weird sound. "Is that... giggling?" he said, looking over at the nearby hot springs where the giggling was originating from.

Naruto frowned. The giggling he was hearing was coming from the girl's side of the hut, but it sounded more male than female. Deciding to take a look, he walked around the back of the springs.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the man who was sitting atop a giant orange frog, looking down into the hot springs while writing into a small notebook. The man had long white hair, an open red robe revealing green ninja clothing under it, wrist guards on his hands, and an overly large forehead protector with the kanji for 'oil' engraved on it.

Naruto glared angrily at the man, who still hadn't noticed him. If it was one thing that Naruto detested, it was perverts. While he did in fact have his patented **Sexy Jutsu**, he used it only for recon and spy missions with seduction as a way of completing it. He never wanted it to be used for anything perverse.

**'**_**This guy has the right idea.'**_ came a demonic voice from Naruto's head.

The blonde sighed. While he didn't like perverts, he quickly found out that Kyubi was one, and a huge one at that. However, there was nothing he could do about it, since the fox could destroy him if he tried to make it stop, and he couldn't reach the thing because it would probably attack him if he tried to step into the seal. _'Shut up Pervy Fox!'_ Naruto yelled in his head before turning his attention back to the real-world pervert in front of him.

The blonde let a cruel smile grow on his face. He took in a deep breath and yelled at the pervert. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING PEEPING ON THE WOMEN'S HOT SPRINGS PERVERT?!"

Suddenly the entire area was filled with killer intent that emanated from the other side of the hotsping's wall. The old man paled so white he could have been dead already before his head snapped to Naruto. Moving faster than Naruto had ever seen, the man grabbed him and promptly ran for his life as a mob of VERY pissed off women shouted after them.

Once they were far enough away, the man dropped Naruto on the ground, who plopped rather ungracefully. "Ow." he said.

"You idiot! You could have gotten us both killed!" the man yelled at him.

Naruto huffed in defiance. "You shouldn't be spying on the women's hot springs!"

The man flinched slightly. "I wasn't spying, I was doing research!"

Naruto stared blankly at the man. "Research? What twisted person peeps on women at a hot springs and calls it 'research'?"

The old man broke into an ear-splitting grin. "I'm glad you asked." He then summoned the giant toad from earlier and struck a pose atop its head. "I am known by many names! I am the great summoner of the toads of Mount Myoboku! One of the legendary three sannin to come out of Konoha! The self-proclaimed super-pervert! I am JIRAIYA THE TOAD SAGE!"

Naruto's eye twitched slightly after the introduction. He shook his head. "Whatever, pervy sage."

Jiraiya, irked by his new nickname, glared at the blonde. "So, why did you interrupt my research, and who are you brat?"

Naruto sighed. "To answer your questions respectively, I don't really like perverts at all, and secondly, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock and sadness, but he closed them and huffed in annoyance. "Whatever."

Naruto saw Jiraiya's eyes though. _'Wonder why I saw sadness when I told him my name?'_ he thought.

Jiraiya took up a contemplative pose. "Hey kid, how about I make you a deal."

This made Naruto raise an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

"I have a feeling that anytime you are around, you'll just blow my cover while I'm researching, so if you don't interrupt my research anymore, I'll train you, free. Sound good?"

Naruto just stared at the man in utter shock. No one, aside from his friends and surrogate siblings, had ever offered him any help before. This man, a complete stranger, was making a deal to train him. Naruto couldn't help but smile as he remembered how quickly Nagato had taken him in. "Deal Pervy Sage. How about we start tomorrow?"

The 'Pervy Sage' groaned. "Are you going to call me that all the time?" he asked, to which Naruto grinned mischievously at him.

"You bet Pervy Sage!" he said happily, followed by another groan by Jiraiya.

_*****The Next Day, Morning, Outside of the Hot Springs*****_

After a talk with Kakashi about Jiraiya being his new temporary sensei, Naruto and Jiraiya agreed to meet outside of the hot springs, since that was the only place Jiraiya actually knew where it was by heart. Once they met up, Jiraiya showed Naruto to a nearby clearing, complete with a waterfall and stream.

"Alright kid, what all do you have?" Jiraiya asked him.

Naruto struck a contemplative pose. "Well, if by that you mean abilities, then I have my shadow clones, my primary wind affinity, my secondary water, earth, lightning, fire, and ice affinities, and my bloodline." Naruto opened his eyes to look at his new sensei, whose mouth was dropped all the way to the ground.

After he finally composed himself, he let out a soft whistle. "Damn kid, does the council know about this?"

Naruto shook his head. "As far as I know, they don't. Only the Old Man, Kakashi-sensei and my team know about it."

Jiraiya nodded. "I see. I also can assume you know about the fox?"

Naruto looked alarmed. "How do you...?"

"Relax kid. I know about you because I saw the sealing take place." That seemed to calm Naruto down a little.

"Now, listen up," Jiraiya spoke, "seeing as you are a jinchuriki, you have huge chakra reserves, so, I'm going to give you a technique that you can use quite easily due to your large reserves." The pervert then made several hand seals before slamming his palm on the ground. **"Summoning Jutsu!"**

In a poof of smoke stood a frog with a scroll on it's back. Jiraiya took said scroll and unraveled it, showing Naruto an old scroll that looked like it hadn't been unraveled in ages.

Naruto had an excited grin on his face. "Awesome!"

"Quite. Now all you need to do is sign your name and fingerprints in blood, an-"

'"I'll be able to summon giant toads?" Naruto yelled excitedly.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! LET ME FINISH!" Jiraiya said as he tried to compose his demeanor before he lost his patience with the blonde. "As I was saying, you will be able to summon..." he stopped to take a look at the scroll, squinting his eyes so he could read the faded text. "... It says... Salamanders?" the old hermit said with a puzzled expression. "That's weird, I never knew that _they_ could summon salamanders. The only person I've ever seen summon a salamander was Hanzo, and he was definitely not one of _them_. So then how did he get the knowledge to summon them..."

As Jiraiya was having a monologue to himself, he placed the scroll down to think aloud about this new discovery. Meanwhile, Naruto did the requirements for signing the contract. Once he was done, he performed the hand seals that were written out on the scroll to do the summoning, and slammed his hand on the ground, shouting, **"Summoning Jutsu!"**

What followed was a plume of billowing smoke and haze that obscured everything from view. Naruto fell flat on his ass and Jiraiya was startled out of his train of thought. When the smoke cleared, a small blue and black striped salamander that was about the height of Naruto's knee was staring at the both of them, his green, bulbous eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

"Hiya!" the salamander said in a cheerful tone, his face brightening with joy.

Naruto and Jiraiya both looked at each other, unsure of what to say. The friendly salamander began to approach the both of them. "So, this is what it's like to be summoned for the first time! I've actually never been outside of Sasayaku Marsh! this is just so cool! So which one of you summoned me? Was it you short stuff or you old geezer?"

"Hey! Who you calling short? You only reach my knee in height!" Naruto comically yelled.

Jiraiya was prepared to do the same thing until he caught a glimpse of his grey/white hair. He slumped his head and shoulders, mumbling something about 'damn salamanders being right'.

"Anyways," Naruto said after he calmed down, "I am the one who summoned you. My name is Naruto, what's your name?" he said with a friendly smile that only encouraged the small amphibian to be more friendly.

"The name's Sanshoryu. Nice to meet ya!" the salamander said to his new summoner. "Thank you for summoning me, it's been ages for us since the last time someone has summoned one of our kind other than Dad."

"Who is your dad?" Naruto inquired, giddy about getting to know his first ever summon.

"Well, he's none other than the boss of the salamanders!" Sanshoryu replied in a happy voice.

Naruto nodded his head, not exactly sure what that meant, but then he saw Jiraiya's gaping expression and wondered what was so important. "What is it Pervy Sage?"

Sanshoryu snickered at the nickname Jiraiya was given. The old pervert grumbled a moment before he gave his answer, "Naruto, if his dad is the boss summon for the salamanders, then he's the heir to the clan of salamanders. To be able to summon an heir on your first try is no easy feat. Impressive indeed."

"Really?" Naruto said in disbelief. "It barely felt like I used any chakra."

Jiraiya face-faulted, and the blonde and his summon laughed at the sage's expense. Sanshoryu turned to face Naruto again. "Well, I gotta get back to Dad. He'll destroy the landscape trying to find me if I'm gone for too long. Later Naruto, and summon me some other time okay!" he said, and then in a poof of smoke, he ws gone.

Naruto nodded his affirmation to the salamander, and even though he knew he couldn't hear him, said, "I will." The blonde then faced his newest sensei, and gave him a hard look. "I know I made that deal not to disrupt your peeking, bu-"

"IT'S NOT PEEKING!... It's research." the pervert said as blood began to dribble out of his nose and he gained a perverted smile.

The jinchuriki sighed. "Fine, but if you blow off my training for your 'research', then I promise you will not like the consequences." he said and then took his leave.

As he was walking away, Jiraiya felt a cold chill run up his spine. _'Why do I get the feeling that he will actually do what he says...'_ the pervert thought before he too retired for the day.

_*****The Next Day*****_

Naruto was walking around the village, enjoying another day off now that he had finished his training for the day with Pervy Sage. He chuckled at the nickname he had come up with for the man. He figured that if he was a self-proclaimed pervert, it fit the old man very well. As he was pondering all the possible nicknames for the perverted sannin, his train of thought was interrupted by someone yelling.

"Hey! You brat!"

Naruto took notice of a little boy wearing a scarf being hefted by his collar by an older guy in a black body suit with a hood that reminded him of a cat. "Watch where you're going!" the older boy yelled.

"S-sorry!" the whimpering kid said.

"C'mon Kankuro," a blonde girl with a fan on her back said from behind him, "we don't have time for this!"

"Hang on Temari! This punk deserves to be punished!" Kankura said as he reared a fist back.

In a flash, Naruto was there to catch his fist before it hit the boy. Naruto sighed. "What did you do Konohamaru?"

The little boy now identified as Konohamaru smiled sheepishly. "I was playing around in the village and I accidentally ran into this guy.."

"Hey squirt! Get out of the way!" Kankuro huffed in annoyance as he tried to overpower Naruto to no avail.

_**'I have a bad feeling kit...'**_ Kyubi said from within Naruto's mind.

_'What do you mean?'_ he asked in his thoughts.

_**'I found the source. Look in that tree over there.' **_the fox commanded, and Naruto complied.

Standing upside down on a tree branch was a red-headed boy, with a large gourd strapped to his back, and the kanji for 'love' written on the side of his forehead. He had black rings around his eyes, like he hadn't slept in months, maybe even years.

"Hey, is he a friend of yours?" Naruto asked Kankuro, who turned to look at what he was referring to. "G-Gaara!?" he said, paling.

"Kankuro, you're an idiot." the redhead Gaara said in a monotone.

"W-what are you doing here little brother?" Temari asked fearfully.

"Making sure you don't cause any trouble." he replied. "We are guests here brother, and the next time you do something so foolish... I will kill you.." he said with no emotion behind his words.

Temari and Kankuro cringed. "S-sorry Gaara!" they both said frantically. "We'll see back at the hotel. Baki-sensei wanted to see us." Temari said, as she and Kankuro practically ran out of sight.

Gaara turned his attention back to Naruto. "Who are you?" he said emotionlessly.

_**'Hey kit, I've got it. This guys the container of the one-tailed raccoon, Ichibi.'**_

_'What!? Seriously?'_

_**'Yes. It seems as though the raccoon has a strong influence over him. Must be something wrong with his seal.'**_

_'His seal huh? You think Pervy Sage can fix it?'_

_**'It's worth a shot. You could also gain a valuable ally by doing so.'**_

_'Alright I 'll give it a shot.'_

Naruto cut the link with Kyuubi to look Gaara in the eye. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki... And I'm just like you."

Gaara's eyes widened in shock, but a second later they lit up with a sadistic glint. "Yes, I want your blood. Killing one of my kind will prove my existence!"

"Hold on man, I want to ask you something?"

This stopped Gaara, who looked at Naruto skeptically. The blonde continued. "I am the container of the Nine-tailed Fox, and he says that your tailed beast is interfering with you because of a clumsy seal. We think we know someone who can fix it for you. Why don't you come with me and help fix your seal. By the look of your eyes, you haven't slept in ages because of it. What do ya say?" He offered a hand to Gaara, hoping the red-head would take up his offer.

Gaara just stared at the blonde's hand, waiting for him to take it and agree to having his life changed. The voice he called Mother was screaming at him not to, but there was something about the blonde that he just trusted. Shutting out the voice shrieking in his head, Gaara shook Naruto's hand, and together they set off to find the perverted sage.

* * *

"Damn, whoever did the sealing really fucked it up." Jiraiya swore as he looked over Gaara's seal on his back. "But, it was nothing that I couldn't handle. You should be able to sleep soundly now without threat of the demon trying to take over you." he said to Gaara, who bowed to both people in front of him.

"I cannot thank you enough Master Jiraiya and Naruto. You have my undying gratitude for allowing me to live a normal life again, well, as normal a life for a jinchuriki anyways."

Naruto chuckled. "No problem Gaara. It's what friends do!"

Gaara stared at him like he was from a distant planet. "Friends?"

Naruto chuckled again. "Yeah, friends! As in what the two of us now are. I consider you my friend!"

Gaara stood motionless for a moment. Then a lone tear streaked its way down his cheek. "Thank you... I've never had any friends..."

Gaara recovered himself, gaining a serious look. "Since I am indebted to you both, I'll warn you ahead of time about my father's plans." the redhead said, earning a look from Jiraiya and Naruto.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya inquired.

"Suna plans to invade Konoha at the chunin finals." Gaara said.

Both Naruto and Jiraiya were shocked. "But, why!? I thought we had a peace treaty with Suna!?"

Gaara shook his head. "Unfortunately, I believe my father, the Kazekage, has been manipulated by one of your missing-nin. I believe his name was Orochimaru."

Jiraiya tensed at the name, his eyes flashing in rage and sadness. "My old teammate..."

Gaara nodded. "Also, along with Suna, Oto forces will aid the invasion. It appears that Orochimaru is the founder of the relatively new Hidden Village of the Sound."

Jiraiya appeared deep in thought. "This is critically important."

"What are we going to do Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, resulting in a fuming Jiraiya and a rather amused Gaara.

"First of all, I have to tell sensei about this. But I also say we just go along with whatever Orochimaru has planned for now. We have to find out what he's up to, what he wants, and if he's in the village, we have to keep an eye out for him. I'm sure he'll make a huge appearance, and it would be nice to finally bring my old friend down." said the perverted hermit.

"But at least when he does make his move, we'll be ready." Jiraiya said. He then turned to Gaara. "You may have just saved the entire Leaf Village with the information you gave us. For that I give you my deepest thanks. But why would you betray your own village?"

Gaara's face remained impassive as he spoke. "The only people not to view me as just a weapon were my siblings Kankuro and Temari. In the assault, I was actually supposed to be their trump card. But it looks like I'll lend my hand to Konoha, and I'm positive my siblings will as well." he said with a smile. "And besides," he said, looking at Naruto, "it's what friends do." Naruto grinned back.

"Alright you two, this is a secret just between us for now. No telling anyone until Orochimaru shows, understand, especially you Gaara. It wouldn't be good for you if they found out that you betrayed your village." Both Gaara and Naruto nodded as they promised not to speak of it outside of themselves.

_*****Two Days Later*****_

Naruto had become close friends with Sanshoryu. As it turned out, Sanshoryu was quite the prankster, and often aided in Naruto's prank schemes. Along with that, like Naruto, he was a voracious eater when it came to ramen. The two would often hold eating competitions, seeing which one could out eat the other. Currently, the score was 8 - 6 in Sanshoryu's favor.

Pervy Sage had also begun treating him like a real protegé. In three days time, they had worked immensely on Naruto's chakra control to help him summon the boss salamander. While he was still no where close to being able to summon him, his chakra control had increased by a fourth of his previous control.

He actually spent a little time with Gaara, when he wasn't training, or when Gaara wasn't around his own team. They both shared some things about what their lives have been like and how their tailed beasts act. Oddly enough, they both had a deep and rooted love for ramen, and spent a lot of their time at Ichiraku's, when Gaara wasn't catching up on his needed sleep, that is.

He didn't spend much time with his team, not that they were looking for him, nor was he of them. Sasuke had decided to do some self-training as well apparently, and Sakura chose to study her medical scrolls she got from the local library.

Speaking of Team Seven, all three members were standing in front of the academy doors. Their reason for being back at the place was simple; it was where the first phase of the Chunin Exams would take place. Each of them had already turned in a form to the Hokage beforehand, so all three were cleared to take it.

"You guys ready?" the blonde said to his teammates as he took hold of the double door handles.

"Yes." was the reply from Sakura.

"Let's do it." Sasuke said, a faint smile on his lips.

"Alright!" Naruto said as he flung open the double doors and stepped inside the academy, his two teammates behind him.

The Chunin Exams had now begun for them.

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter XIII: The Chunin Exams Begin!**


	14. Bloodline Chapter 13

Yo.

How you doing guys? I'm sorry that this is a short chapter, and a boring one at that. It just goes over the first part of the exam. Next chapter has some action in it, so bear with me please. Can't have every chapter be awesome and action-packed unfortunately...

Anyways, just so there is no confusion, my story definitely does NOT follow the canon all the way, and there are several differences. Firstly, Sasuke isn't a prick. He still has revenge motives, but isn't obsessed with obtaining power, and a large reason for that comes in next chapter in the Forest of Death. Secondly, he is also more reserved, and doesn't rush into fights thinking that he will win automatically like he did in canon, as you will read ion this chapter.

Also, don't forget to vote on the poll about having Hinata in the harem or not. I'll close it down when this story reaches the first rounds of Chunin Exam Finals. The results of the poll will not be put into immediate effect, however, so don't assume that I'll get rid of/add her just yet. ;P

But enough of my talking. You guys came here to read some **Bloodline**, so here you go, and I'll update within the next few days or so. l3eatdown out.

* * *

**Chapter XIII: Begin the Chunin Exams!**

Team Seven strode their way through the hallways of the Konoha Ninja Academy. All three were hit with a wave of sour nostalgia from just being here once again. Not a single one of them want to be back here. They'd take a hundred 'Rescue Tora' missions before they came back here.

The testing room they were to begin their exams was on the third floor. The three ascended the first flight of stairs to the second floor, catching sight of the commotion happening in front of one of the doors.

In front of one of the classroom doors in the hallway, 301, the testing room,to be exact, were two genin taller than the others, looking rather annoyed with the dozen or so genin in front of them.

"Hey, what gives! We're here to take the chunin exams!" one boy in the group shouted.

"Yeah! Let us through!" a girl yelled.

One of the bigger genin grunts snorted. "Like hell! There's no way you guys will be able to pass the exams! You might as well just go back home!"

"Yeah!" the other cronie said. This aroused several shouts and cries of unfairness from the assorted smaller genin.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura didn't even stop. The genjutsu placed on the classroom was obvious enough. They walked straight on past the group heading for the second stairs.

"Let us through!"

The group turned around as a young man in a green full-body suit, a bowl-style haircut, and freakishly huge eyebrows was shoved to the ground by one of the older genin.

A girl in a chinese-style tank top with her hair tied in two buns on her head rushed to his side. "Lee, you alright?"

The leaf genin now known as Lee stood. "Yes, thank you Tenten." He turned to the two older genin. "You two are most unyouthful! Why won't you let us pass though?"

"Or better yet, why are you using a genjutsu to cover the doorway?" Sasuke asked from behind the group.

"Huh?" "Genjutsu?" "They tricked us!" the small crowd shouted.

"Damn, should have known the Uchiha prodigy would figure it out." one of the door guarding genin said before he transformed into Kotetsu. The other genin transformed back into Izumo.

Naruto flashed a grin at the two. "Hey Kotetsu! Izumo!"

The two of them took notice of blonde, breaking out into their own smiles. "Hey Naruto! How ya been?" Kotetsu asked.

Sasuke and Sakura looked back and forth between the three of them. "Wait," Sakura said, "you know these guys?"

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Heck yeah I do! They help me pull some pranks around the village sometimes."

Izumo laughed heartily. "You bet! Man, the last time we pulled a prank with you was when we replaced bath towels at the hot springs with extra-large flypaper!"

"YOU THREE DID THAT! I TRIED TO GET THAT THING OFF FOR AT LEAST A WEEK!" Sakura shouted at the three while they were blasted away from her by the sheer volume of her voice.

"Sorry Sakura..." Naruto said as he nervously scratched his cheek.

"You."

The group turned back to Lee, who was staring at Sasuke with flames in his eyes. "Your name is Sasuke Uchiha, is it not?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "That would be me."

Lee took a fighting stance. "Excellent! You are this year's Rookie of the Year! Allow me, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, Rock Lee, to fight you to test your flames of youth!"

The group just stared at Lee like he had grown a second head. A boy wearing a beige shirt with brown ninja shorts, long brown hair that floweth (Yes, I said floweth) down to his lower back that was tied in a tail at the end, and pupil-less eyes like Hinata sighed. "Lee, we don't have time for this."

Lee turned his attention to the boy. "Relax Neji. I am sure that we have enough time for a quick spar."

However Sasuke shook his head. "Sorry Lee. Maybe if I was still arrogant like I was before I had friends, but not now. If we were to have a fight, then we would most likely be disqualified for fighting before the exams."

Lee looked distraught. "How could I have been so stupid! Please forgive me my teammates! I almost committed a very unyouthful act!" Lee said as he bowed for mercy from his two teammates, who just sighed.

Team Seven shrugged it off. "Well, I guess we'll see you all later." Naruto said to them as he turned around and began to head up the stairs.

"Wait. You there. What is your name?"

Naruto turned back around. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And you are..." Naruto said to Neji.

"Neji Hyuga."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Hyuga? Are you related to Hinata?"

Naruto decided that it was a bad question to ask as Neji scowled. Naruto quickly put in, "Never mind, I'm sorry I asked."

He turned back around. "C'mon guys. We have an exam to pass!" he said to his team as all of them walked up the last flight of stairs and onto the third floor.

Inside the large classroom were several genin, and by several, dozens. Their were genin from several nations. There was Gaara's team, a team from the Hidden Rain, a team from Sound (whom Naruto spotted and made a mental note to keep an eye on), a team from Kusa, one or two from Kiri, and several from Konoha.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was tackled from behind by Ino as she literally jumped from across the room to get him.

"Ino, get off." Sasuke said in annoyance.

The platinum pouted. "Aw, c'mon Sasuke-kun, at least be happy to see me!"

"Ugh, troublesome..." Shikamaru said as he and Choji walked up to the group of genin.

Naruto smiled cooly at two of his first friends. "Hey guys. You guys too, huh?"

"Yeah. Asuma-sensei said it would be good for us!" Choji said through his moutful of chips.

"Hey! You guys are in too!" Everyone turned to see Kiba, Shino, and Hinata join the group. "Looks like all the rookies are together!" Kiba said with much enthusiasm.

"Yeah, looks like you're right." Naruto said with a small smile. Just at that moment, everyone, with the exception of Naruto and Sasuke, began to shiver. The Rookie Nine scanned the room and saw that every single ninja in the room was glaring and focusing their KI at them. Apparently their conversation about being rookies had caught the attention of every other genin in the room.

Naruto's eyes hardened. He could see how his friends were reacting to all the killing intent and glares being directed at them, so he did the one thing a true friend would do; take the fall for them.

Indignantly, he stood tall and pointed a finger into the crowd of genin. "Hey! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And I'm going to kick all of your asses!" he shouted. His lips upturned slightly when he finally felt that all the glares were now focused at him.

"Naruto! You idiot! Are you trying to make them angry!" Ino shout-whispered.

Shino just shook his head. "No. He saw how uncomfortable the glares were making us, so he brought all of their attention on him instead of us."

Sakura tilted her head. "But why would he do that?"

Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino sighed. "Because... he's used to the glares..." Shikamaru said quietly.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba asked. Before he could get an answer though, he was interrupted by a silver-haired boy with glasses and Leaf forehead protector on.

"Hello there! You really shouldn't draw so much attention to yourselves. Being rookies and all, you'll be definite targets for a lot of the teams." he said with a friendy smile. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi, Leaf genin."

"Aren't you a little old to be a genin?" Ino scoffed.

Kabuto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes, well, I'm more of a support ninja, so it's been kind of hard for me to pass. I've actually taken the exams seven times!"

"Seven times! Damn, you must suck!" Kiba retorted.

Kabuto just shook his head. "More like the exams got tougher each year. But being in these exams so many times has allowed me to gather information on several people." he said as he pulled out several ninja info cards. "Heck, I even have info on the nine of you! Is there any information you would like to know?"

Sasuke spoke up. "Sure. How about Rock Lee and Gaara Subaku?"

"How do you know Gaara?" Naruto asked him, to which Sasuke shrugged. "I met him, sort of, one day when he was by himself, loathing. I tried talking to him, but all he told me was his name."

Naruto accepted that answer. It must have been the day he met with the pervy sage that it must have happened.

"Aw, you already know the names. That's no fun. But anyways, here's Lee's stats. He's a genin from the Hidden Leaf, teammates are Neji Hyuga and Tenten. He's dead last of his graduating class, with no skill in either ninjutsu or genjutsu, but excels in taijutsu. He has completed a total of 15 missions: 13 D-ranks and 2 C-ranks." Kabuto told all of them.

Sasuke furrowed his brow. "Hmm. Only taijutsu huh? I wonder why?"

"Indeed," Kabuto continued, "As for Gaara, he is a genin from the Hidden Sand, his sibling team is Temari Subaku and Kankuro Subaku, and he's son of the Kazekage! He's completed 21 D-ranks, 10 C-ranks, and even a B-rank! And it says that he has never been injured on a mission before!"

The three teams of genin stood stock still with their mouths open in shock, with the exceptions of Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino.

Naruto sensed movement coming towards them and reacted just in time to jump away from a jab from one of the sound genin, instead shooting past Kabuto's head. His appearance resembled that of a mummy, with a metal contraption latched to his arm. Despite missing his hit, Kabuto dropped to his knees as his glasses shattered and blood oozed from his ears.

"Remember you insolent whelps, the sound team is going to take it all this year." he said before moving back to sit next to his other two teammates.

The room suddenly became engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke before anything else could happen. Standing in the doorway of the room, along with several other chunin, was a tall, balded man with a black trench coat and wrap around his head.

"Listen up!" the man said in an aithoritative voice, "My name is Ibiki Morino, and I will be the proctor for the first part of the exam, the written portion."

_*****Thirty Minutes Later*****_

"Man, this is so stupid..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he looked over the test again. Ibiki had taken them all to an entirely different room with several rows of seats. He then explained the rules of the test: no cheating, and if you were caught after several times, you would be disqualifiedalong with your team, and that the tenth and final question would be given at the end of the test.

Oh how he hated this test. He was lucky to be barely passing any test in the academy, but you would have to be some super-bookworm to answer these questions. And he would be loathing Ibiki if he had not already figured out his game.

It was simple. The questions were obviously too hard to answer on your own, so you would have to resort to cheating... almost like they wanted you to do just that. It didn't really matter if you passed or failed. It was a test of information gathering.

He had already seen a few teams get flunked out for cheating. He silently prayed that his team wouldn't get called. He began nervously sweating at the prospect of failing the exams. He broke out of his musings when he heard a worried gasp come from his right.

Looking over, sitting in the seat next to him was his friend Hinata, worry filling her eyes. He gave her one of his toothy fox smiles, making her blush furiously before leaning back in his seat. He smirked towards Ibiki, and decided to write something on his paper. _'Heh! He'll get a kick out of this!'_

Ten more minutes passed, and a few more teams were failed, before Ibiki finally called everyone's attention to the front of the class.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to give out the tenth and final question, but before that, let me go over the rules."

"I thought we already went over the rules!" someone in the back shouted.

"Yes, but there is a separate set of rules for the final question." Ibiki answered levelly. "Now, for this question, if you get it wrong, you automatically fail the exam, along with your team." he said, making everyone save a few widen their eyes.

"Also," he continued, "should you fail this question, you will not be able to take the exams again... ever."

And the outrages commenced.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Silence!" Ibiki shouted and the room became still. "I'm the proctor and I make he rules for the exam. Now, before I was interrupted, if you choose to quit now before I give te final question, you'll still be able to take the exams in the future."

Ibiki stood tall with a stoic expression. "Now, I'm done giving out the rules. Raise your hand if you do not feel like continuing."

A few hands went into the air, and the teams left. Naruto looked over to Hinata, who looked troubled. He saw that she was about to raise her hand, so he did the first thing that came to his mind. He gave her an encouraging smile.

She practically turned into a tomato because of the simple smile he gave her. "Relax Hinata," Naruto said reassuringly, "you can do this." She just nodded dumbly, afraid her voice would betray her.

"Is that all?" Ibiki spoke, seeing now that no more teams were leaving the room. "Excellent," he said with a light smile. "You all pass!"

Just as the uproars of confusion was starting in the class, one of the window's shattered as a smokescreen enveloped the front of the classroom. A large banner was displayed and said in big letters 'ANKO MITARASHI, SECOND EXAM PROCTOR'.

The lady that emerged out of the mist had short purple hair tied in a spike tail on top of her head. Her clothing was very revealing, consisting of only shorts, a t-shirt that didn't even pass her rib cage, and a brown trench coat.

"Hello maggots!" she yelled with an evil grin plastered to her face, "My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm your second exam proctor!"

Everyone in the room anime sweat-dropped at the weird woman's actions. Ibiki sighed in exasperation. "Impatient as always, huh Anko?"

Anko looked out into the sea of about 48 genin left. Her face contorted in disgust and she sneered at Ibiki. "You getting soft old man? Letting all of these shrimps pass?"

Ibiki chuckled lightly. "Guess there's just a better batch of genin this year."

Anko donned her sadistic smile once again. "Well, I'll make sure that the numbers are brought down. Half of you will be begging to quit before I'm done with you!"

Everyone in the room shivered at her words. "Alright!" the crazy woman said, "Follow me!" she said as she strode out of the room, and everyone else reluctantly followed after.

Ibiki walked around the classroom picking up the remaining papers left in the class, but stopped on one of them to examine it a little better.

_'I passed a kid who didn't even answer a single question on his test...'_ Ibiki thought in exasperation. He then noticed the few short sentences written at the bottom of the test.

"_Not everyone will be a spy or information gatherer. There are those who will be the front-line fighters, and I'm one of them. Nice try though!"_

Ibiki just shook his head. This kid was something else. He finally read the name of who the paper belonged to.

"Naruto Uzumaki." he said. "You're probably the most interesting one in this group." He returned to picking up the rest of the papers. "I wonder how far you will go."

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter XIV: The Second Phase**


	15. Bloodline Chapter 14

Yo.

Straight to business. There is a MAJOR change in this chapter of the story that affects the whole story down the road. I think you guys can figure out what I'm talking about. ;)

And did you guys read the manga? I was all like, "HOLY SHIT! DID THEY REALLY DIE!?% $#" It definitely caught me by surprise.

But yeah, here you go. **Bloodline** for your enjoyment.

* * *

**Chapter XIV: The Second Phase**

"Welcome to Training Ground 44 maggots!" Anko yelled out to the assembled genin. "Or as I like to call it, the Forest of Death!"

All the genin stole uneasy looks as they stood in front of the gigantic training ground. The Forest of Death was exactly what it was, surrounded by a tall and large fence. The growth in the forest itself was so enveloping and smothering, you couldn't see fifteen feet into the thing. Several shrieks and cries of monstrosities echoed from within the confines of the training area.

"Alright, here's how the second phase is going to work!" she began, "First off, each of you will get a scroll." She took out two scrolls, one brown and one white. "Your team will either get a heaven scroll or an earth scroll. Your objective is to get the scroll you do not start out with from another team."

"The first rule is that you may not open the scrolls until you reach the tower. Once at the tower, you must open both scrolls to pass. If you open the scroll before you get to the tower... Well, let's just say that there is a little surprise for you if you do." she said with a sinister grin, making most of the genin shudder. "The second rule is that you have a five-day time limit to reach the tower. If you do not reach the tower in the alloted time, then you and your team are disqualified. If you enter the tower without a full team, or one of your teammates dies in battle, then your team is disqualified. And the third rule is... Other than the first two rules, there are no more rules! Meaning that everything is fair game from here on out. That includes killing." she said with a devilish grin.

"Now, I need all of you to sign these waivers stating that I am not responsible for any of your deaths." she said in the most cheerful of voices, scaring everyone further.

_*****Several Signed Waivers Later*****_

Team Seven stood in front of gate seven to the training area. Each of the members looked ready to kick ass if need be, but they had already decided to avoid as much combat as possible.

The shot was given to begin the second exams. Naruto and team dashed through the gates as soon as they opened. The second phase of the exams had begun!

Naruto was becoming a little wary. Him and his team had traveled for at least an hour with no sign of any team at all. Not that they were searching for any team in specific. It was just that no other team had already confronted them. It all unsettled the blonde. Sasuke motioned for them to stop, which the the two team members acknowledged.

"What's wrong Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"We've been traveling in circles. This is a genjutsu." he said simply. All three members did a simultaneously release of the genjutsu. They looked around the area for anything that would seem out of place. Then three figures emerged from the forestry. They wore yellow bodysuits, gas masks, and Ame headbands.

Naruto let a low growl escape his throat. He would never forget all of those times that Rain ninja would attack him and Nagato while they were training.

"Aw. You guys broke out of our jutsu rather quickly. We were hoping to tire you out some more." on said.

"Yes. But I suppose we'll just have to deal with you as is." another said.

"So prepare to die!" the final said. Before any of them could move however, Naruto flashed his own hand signs before stopping on an irregular one. **"Ice Style: Ice Trap!"**

Ice formed around the feet of the rain ninja, immobilizing their movements. The rain-nin looked very alarmed at the turn of events. "Wh-what the!?" one yelled in surprise.

"I'm stuck!"

"What is this!?"

"This is your death." Naruto said as he appeared behind all of them. His hand began accumulating ice particles, lengthening from his fingertips into a sharpened edge and point. **"Frostbite Blade!"** he called out as he swung his sword arm horizontally, decapitating the three of them. After the deed was done, his sword of ice crumbled away from his arm. The blonde was trembling slightly.

He never liked to take a life, but he had come to terms with that a long time ago when he accepted the life of a ninja. If someone meant harm to him or his precious people, he would not hesitate to drive them away, even if that meant to kill them.

Sakura walked over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Naruto stopped his trembling, having regained his composure, and nodded affirmative. "Yeah. Remind me to thank Haku for teaching me how to control my ice the next time we see her."

"Heh, guess we got lucky." Sasuke called, holding up an earth scroll he had picked up from one of the men. "That was easy."

Naruto smirked. "Awesome! Now we can head on to the tower, and hopefully we won't run into any more teams!"

Of course, it would be his luck to jinx himself and his team like that. From out of nowhere came a giant snake, its fangs bearing down on the genin team. All three jumped away as the snake's head crashed into the ground where they had been moments earlier.

The snake reared its head after Naruto, who dodged it while throwing kunai at it. "Damn!" he said as he saw the kunai bounce harmlessly off of the scales.

**"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"** Sasuke yelled before expelling a huge fireball from his mouth at the snake, which was enveloped by the fire. It thrashed about before falling limp on the ground, and then poofed out of existence.

_'A summon!'_ Naruto thought.

"Kukuku... impressive."

Team Seven all shivered when they heard the voice. All three turned to see a lone grass ninja standing on a tree branch above them, looking down at them with a creepy glare. Her tongue flicked in and out of her mouth, coming out unnaturally and folding and rolling at angles thought impossible for humans.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sasuke asked evenly.

He received a creepy chuckle in response. "Who I am is not important now." the grass genin said. "As for what I want..." he eyed Naruto. "I want the blonde."

Naruto shivered at the statement made by the genin. No way was he letting that _thing_ touch him. "Like hell I'll let you get me."

"Kukukuku... Let me test your power. Let me see if you are worthy." the grass ninja said, her eyes changing into a yellow slit.

Naruto was unfazed by the sudden change. He'd seen things scarier from Kyubi. But apparently Sasuke and Sakura were frozen in fear.

"Hey guys, c'mon, what's wrong with you!?" he yelled at his teammates to no avail.

The stranger chuckled darkly. "They can't help you now. It's just you and me. Although... I'm impressed that weren't affected by my killing intent. Now, let me test your abilities."

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get." Naruto said, flashing through hand signs. **"Lightning Style: Lightning Dart!"** he yelled as the shot of electricity surged through air towards the stranger.

The Kusa genin didn't move until the last second, her body bending so far backwards she could have been a contortionist instead of a ninja. "Come now. You can do better than that surely."

Naruto scowled. "Alright then. **Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Thirty clones poofed into the area, surrounding the grass genin, who looked mildly surprised by all the clones. "Yes, yes! Impressive! Show me more!"

All of the clones began charging wind chakra to their fists. Once mini tornadoes swirled around their knuckles, all of them dashed for the grass genin. **"Shadow Clone Art: Tornado Fist Barrage!"**

The real Naruto let the grass ninja handle his clones while he tried to snap his teammates out of it. "C'mon guys! I need you right now!" Neither responded, still frozen by fear.

Naruto sighed in frustration before charging his hand with lightning chakra. **"Lightning Taser."**

He touched both Sasuke and Sakura, each yelping in surprise at being tazed, even if only lightly. They gave glares at the blonde before remembering what had happened. "Thanks." was their unison statement.

"No problem. Now, help me deal with this guy." the blonde said as he turned back in time to see the genin dispatch his last clone."

"Not bad boy." she said with an eerie smile, "Show me more."

"Sasuke, do it!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke threw two shuriken at the genin. _**'Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!'**_ he thought.

The grass genin dodged both the visible and hidden shuriken from both attempts, but was caught off guard by the strings attached to them that wrapped around him once Sasuke pulled back on them.

"Got him!" Sasuke yelled triumphantly.

**"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" **Naruto said as he shot a fireball at the genin. The fireball definitely impacted, and Team Seven breathed sighs of relief... Until they heard laughing coming from the fire.

"Impressive... Though you could do so much more with your own power..." the Kusa genin said, his face practically melted off revealing slivers of paler skin underneath, along with yellow, slitted eyes.

"What the fuck are you!?" Naruto yelled at him.

The genin chuckled. "I suppose I should at least have the decency to tell you. My name is Orochimaru." she said, ripping off the rest of the flesh on her face to reveal a very paled, almost albino face of a man.

"Well, I must say that you have proven to me that you are worthy of my gift Naruto-kun." the snake sannin said as his head shot forward and he sank his teeth into Naruto's neck.

"GAAHHHH!" the blonde shrieked in pain. The snake man retracted his head, and Naruto slumped to the ground, clutching the back of his neck.

"What did you do to him!?" Sakura yelled in fury. She and Sasuke looked ready to rip the man apart if he had to.

"Just a gift for the future. In time, he will come to seek me out. Until next time... Naruto-kun... Kukukuku!" he said as his body began to sink into the ground, morphing into the environment until nothing remained of the man.

Meanwhile, Naruto continued to writhe in pain. Sakura and Sasuke both hovered over him, with Sakura applying medical justu to hopefully lessen his pain.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked as a seal began to form on Naruto's neck in the shape of an open swirl.

"I don't know." Sakura answered. "Let's get Naruto out of here. Find some shelter for the night." And they did just that, deciding to hide out at the base of a hollowed out tree, each taking turns to watch over Naruto to see his current condition.

_*****With Naruto*****_

Blackness.

That was all that Naruto could see in his subconsciousness. A huge empty void. Absolute nothingness. No sense of balance. No sense of direction. No sense of time. He was just there, floating in emptiness. It would have unsettled to him if he wasn't preoccupied with the searing pain that emanated from his neck through his whole body.

It hurt worse than anything he knew. Worse than the beatings he received from the villagers. He could feel it, and do nothing about it. His own body wouldn't move to nurse his neck.

He remembered the entire incident. Orochimaru sinking his fanged teeth into his neck. The strange seal forming on his neck in the spot where he was bitten. He silently loathed the man with all of his soul.

After several minutes, or hours, he didn't know, the pain began to subside and he felt the effects of it lessening, his body relaxing and his body sore and achy from his muscles convulsing from the pain.

A faint light grew in the distance of the darkness, dim and red. It got closer and closer to him. He felt the radiance coming from the light, and he knew what was causing it instantly.

_**'Don't worry about the seal kit. I've taken care of it.'**_ the fox responded from somewhere in the void with its thoughts.

Naruto tried speaking back mentally, but found himself unable to do that as well.

The light came closer and closer, glowing brighter and brighter. The red changed to orange, then yellow, and now a blinding white as the luminescence covered Naruto, leaving him in a white out.

_*****In Reality*****_

The first thing Naruto noticed when he woke was that his pain was gone. In its place was strength he had only felt once before.

He sat up from his spot on the ground and did a quick scan of his surroundings. He was inside of a hollowed out tree. He saw the sleeping bags of his teammates, but not them, so he figured they were at least close by. And that was when he heard the clang of metal on metal.

He groaned from the effort of sitting up. His body was still sore from the pain. He walked over to the hole of the tree that was the entrance, and the view outside made him blanche.

Sakura and Sasuke were fighting the Sound ninja team. Sasuke held his ears, which were bleeding, and Sakura was being held by the girl of the team. And then she did the most unthinkable thing. She cut her hair with a kunai to release the grip the girl had on her. He gawked at her actions, and everyone else seemed equally surprised by the action. However, the Sound girl retaliated with a quick chop to the back of her neck and she was out cold.

At seeing this, Naruto felt his rage build up. He felt the chakra he knew oh so well begin to flow into him. His features turned more canine, and fox-like. Orange chakra swirled around his body forming the cloak of a fox. His eyes, slitted and red, showed the hostility he felt within him.

_**'Use my power kit. Show them why I am the most powerful of Biju!'**_Kyubi yelled in his head.

Naruto felt the fox's chakra swell inside him, making his sight turn red. He lost his sense of right. He only felt the need to do one thing; destroy.

He saw the girl about to bring a kunai down on Sakura. He moved faster than he had ever done so before.

He caught her in his grip, stopping her downward motion. She cried out in pain from the demonic chakra against her skin. Naruto cocked a fist back and hit her square in the jaw, sending her flying, crashing into a tree, and passing out cold.

His hateful gaze turned to the two remaining sound ninja, the one that attacked them before the exams began, and another with wily brown hair.

_**"Sasuke..."**_ Naruto said, his voice strained. He was having a hard time resisting the demon chakra._**"Please.. don't... get in... the way... this power... I don't think... I could stop myself... if I lost control..."**_

Sasuke looked on in awe and fear. _'What is this power?'_ he thought to himself. He nodded to Naruto, then leapt back out of the fray to tend to Sakura.

The brown haired ninja smacked his lips. "Are you the Uzumaki?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, a low growl escaping his throat. the same ninja took this as a yes to his question. "Our master gave us orders to kill you, so we'll do just that. And if you're anything like that bitch of a teammate you have, then this will be over quickly." he said with an evil grin.

Naruto felt his control slip away as rage filled his mind. He rushed the brown haired guy with amazing speed. Unfortunately, the sound guy had already prepped an attack.

**"Decapitating Airwaves!"** From the holes in his hands, a concentrated burst of air shot out, heading straight for Naruto. The air wave hit him, and resulted in a huge explosion.

The brown-haired ninja smirked arrogantly. "Hah! Told you this kid was nothing Dosu. Looks like you were worried for nothing!"

Before he could turn to his remaining conscious teammate, he was blindsided by a kick to the jaw, sending him flying into the dirt. He felt himself get brought up. He cracked his eyes through the pain to see what had hit him.

Naruto was holding him by his collar, his slitted eyes filtered with hate. He held a single hand up, and around it swirled a tornado fist, only this wind churned more violently. He punched his fist into the ninja's stomach.

He screamed in agony, as the wind began to tear away at his skin. With one final thrust, Naruto's hand cleaved clean through his stomach. The ninja gaped, eyes bulging, blood dripping from his open mouth. His eyes flickered on and off, before his head and body slumped all together, dead.

Naruto pulled his hand back out, and glared at the last sound ninja. Dosu stared wide-eyed at his dead teammate, then to his unconscious one, then back at Naruto. He trembled in fear at the cold, heartless gaze the blonde was giving him.

_'This is definitely not the Curse Mark's power. What is this? Why did Lord Orochimaru want us to kill him if he didn't give him the Curse Mark. But then, where did he get this power?'_ Dosu thought fearfully.

He thought out every possible situation he could take, and none of them sounded very good to him, since most ended up with him dying. In the end, he did the only thing that seemed the most logical. He dropped his scroll on the ground and picked up his downed teammate.

"Here, take our scroll, just leave us be." he said, hoping the blonde would settle with what he had to offer.

Naruto took a step forward. Dosu blanched as the blonde casually walked closer and closer. Before things could escalate any further though, a hand clasped onto either of Naruto's shoulders. He whipped around to see Sasuke and a conscious Sakura holding on to his shoulders, giving him concerned looks.

Seeing his friends snapped something inside Naruto. He felt his anger recede, and the demonic chakra vanish from around him. His eyes transformed back into his cerulean blue. He breathed in a sigh. "Thanks guys."

Dosu let out the breath he was holding. Before he left he left a warning. "We'll meet again Uzumaki. The Sound will rise above all." he said before taking off into the treetops.

Naruto fell forward, but Sasuke caught him. "Easy does it man."

Naruto didn't even hear him as he blacked out from consciousness.

_*****Some Time Later*****_

Naruto finally began to stir from his sleep. He sat up with some effort and looked around the room. It wasn't a hospital room, but it wasn't his room either. Just then the door to the room slid open.

"Oh good, you're awake." Sakura said as she walked into the room and sat down on the bed opposite of him.

Naruto plopped back down onto his pillow. "Where am I?"

"We're inside the tower. After you passed out, we headed straight here. You've been out for a few days." she replied.

"What!?" he said in a panicked tone.

"Don't worry, today is the final day. Once we got here, we took you to one of the rooms and we opened the scrolls in the main room. There, we met Kakashi-sensei who told us that we all passed the second part of the exams." Sakura said as she kicked her legs in and out like a little school girl. She donned a serious look and said, "Can you stand up?"

Naruto strained to get up, but once he did, it was easy enough to move around. "Yeah, I'll be fine." They sat there for a minute or two until the blonde spoke again. "Um... Sakura... Was there a mark or something on my neck when I passed out?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion. "There was one on your neck after the weird man bit you, but it wasn't there when you woke back up, so I just thought it was my imagination."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "So the fox wasn't kidding when he said that he got rid of it..."

Sakura just looked at him in a weird manner. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled. "Nothing. Where's Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled herself. "He's already in the main room. C'mon, don't wanna be late!"

Together the two of them got up and left the room to go and find their third and final team member. After Naruto and Sakura had met up with Sasuke, the Hokage himself appeared in front of all the potential chunin and explained to all of them that since so many passed the second exams, there would be a preliminaries before the final exam actually took place.

After that was said, the Hokage asked if anyone wanted to give up, to which no one raised there hands. With that out of the way, the Hokage turned the floor over to Hayate Gekko, who had just introduced himself and was about to explain how the prelims would work.

"Now, the way these prelims will work are one-on-one matches, with names randomized and selected that will appear on a screen. Like the exams before this one, there are no rules, and while killing is allowed, it highly discouraged here. Now since, there are twenty of you, all of you will be fighting in a match." Hayate said, then went into a coughing fit.

After he recomposed himself, he gestured to the large screen at the far end of the mini arena. "So, without further adieu, the first match of the preliminaries will be..." he said as names shuffled across the electronic screen.

* * *

Original Jutsu

**Ice Style: Ice Trap**

_Rank: C _

_Description: Supplementary ice element ninjutsu. The caster forms ice around the feet and legs of a target, trapping them and resticting their movement._

**Frostbite Blade**

_Rank: A _

_Description: Offensive ice element ninjutsu. Ice follicles shape around the hand of the user into a sharpened point or edge, giving it sword-like qualities. If a victim survives an attack from the blade, the skin where they get cut gets frostbite, hence the name._

**Shadow Clone Art: Tornado Fist Barrage**

_Rank: S (Limited to Naruto)_

_Description: Offensive wind element nintaijutsu. A multitude of shadow clones with __**Tornado Fists**__ assault a target, dealing massive damage._

**Lightning Taser**

_Rank: D_

_Description: Offensive lightning element ninjutsu. The user sends a jolt of harmful lightning chakra into someone via their hand, and depending on the amount sent in, can paralyze a target, or shock them back into reality, like Naruto did with Sasuke and Sakura._

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter XV: Preliminary Showdowns Part One**


	16. Bloodline Chapter 15

Yo.

Happy holidays guys! Sorry for the long wait, but the holidays kill me. X/ Lol. :D

This chapter is the beginning of the preliminaries. Matches are switched up with different opponents and MOSTLY the same outcomes for the finals. Obviously the Sound Team is not in it, but I will have Kabuto fight. :P Speaking of fighting, since they are just prelims, the fights are pretty short for the most part. There are a few that are good in my opinion, but whatever.

Also, I've been facing a bit of writer's block. I can't focus when I write anymore for whatever reason. I'm going to give it some time and then dive back into the story when I get over my funk. That means no updates for a while after this one I'm afraid... ;(

But yeah, here you guys go. My gift to you all for the holidays; an action-packed chapter of **Bloodline**!

* * *

**Chapter XV: Preliminary Showdowns Part one**

"Yoroi Akado versus Shino Aburame!" Hayate called out as the two names appeared on the electronic screen. "You two stay here on the floor, the rest of you wait for your names to be called from the balconies."

Everyone began to file off the floor except for Yoroi and Shino. On one side of the arena balconies stood Gaara's team and Yoroi's other teammates. On the opposite side was Team Seven, Team Eight, Team Nine, and Team Ten, with their respective sensei. Everyone's eyes were focused on the floor of the arena where the two combatants stood.

Yoroi looked about as reclusive as Shino, wearing a cloth mask that covered his face and a bandana to cover his head, with rounded black glasses much like Shino's. The only huge difference was that Yoroi didn't wear a large jacket, probably because it would hide his thick, muscled arms.

"You should just give up. You don't have a chance against me." Yoroi said to intimidate Shino.

It didn't have its intended effect as Shino just stood there and calmly spoke, "Ninja don't speak with mere words. They vocalize themselves with their abilities and actions."

Hayate looked between the two of them. "Alright, you two ready?" Both of them nodded. "The first match is between Shino Aburame and Yoroi Akado. Begin!" he said, jumping back to get a wider view of the fight.

Yoroi wasted no time in jumping at Shino, fists swinging. Shino back-pedaled away from him, dodging every swipe at him.

* * *

"Why doesn't Shino fight back?" Sakura asked.

"W-well, Shino isn't a c-close r-range f-fighter, s-so he doesn't h-have very s-strong t-taijutsu s-skills.." Hinata meekly replied.

"Huh!? Then how does he fight?" Ino said.

Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto just smiled smugly. "Just watch and see." Kiba said, and they all looked back down to the arena floor.

* * *

Shino dodged yet another attack by Yoroi, who looked plenty annoyed by all of the dodging the former was doing. "Hold still!" Yoroi yelled out.

The trench coat wearer evaded another punch, but failed to jump over a sweep kick sent at him. He fell to the ground, and in an instant Yoroi was on top of him, his hand clasped on Shino's head.

"Got ya!" Yoroi yelled with glee.

His hand on Shino's head began to glow blue, and Shino felt his strength diminishing. "What.. Are you... Doing?" Shino struggled to say.

Yoroi let out a devious laugh. "It's a special technique of mine that allows me to drain the chakra of my victim and make it my own. Another minute or two of this and you won't even be able to stand!"

Shino didn't respond at first. After a few seconds, he spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. "This match is over."

Before Yoroi could retort a response, he suddenly felt a crawling sensation across his arms and back. "What the!?" he cried out as beetles emerged from Shino's coat and latched on to Yoroi.

Yoroi jumped back, trying to swat the bugs from him. Shino sat up, dusted himself up, then held a hand up in the air. Beetles began to accumulate in a massive sphere above his hand. When the sphere was complete, Shino tossed it at Yoroi. **"Aburame Art: Beetle Sphere!"**

Yoroi, who was too busy swatting the bugs on himself, didn't even see the attack coming. It crashed into him, the beetles swallowing him. The only thing that could be heard from him were his cries and screams.

Hayate looked at Shino. "Alright that's enough, you can call off your bugs."

Shino nodded, and his insects instantly returned to him, leaving an unconcious Yoroi on the floor. They retreated back inside his jacket, creeping out every female there except Hinata.

"Yoroi is unable to continue. Winner, Shino Aburame." Hayate called out. Shouts and praises broke out from the Rookie Nine side as Shino ascended the stairs back up and Yoroi was carried out on a stretcher.

"Alright, on to the next match." Hayate stated as the names began randomized themselves again. Everyone held their breath and wondered if they were going to be next. The names finally came to a halt.

"Shikamaru Nara versus Sakura Haruno!" Hayate read the names aloud.

Sakura pumped a fist into the air. "Oh yeah! I got the easiest match yet!"

Naruto shook his head. "I wouldn't be so sure, but good luck Sakura."

Shikamaru groaned from his seat on the floor. "How troublesome. I have to fight a girl."

"C'mon Shikamaru! Get up! and go show The Forehead who's boss!" Ino yelled at her lazy teammate.

"Troublesome." the pineapple head mumbled as he lazily got up and walked down the stairs to the center of the area where Sakura was waiting impatiently.

Hayate looked between the two of them. "The second match between Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara. Begin!"

Sakura charged Shikamaru while throwing a few kunai at him. The lazy genius side-stepped them easily, and avoided her punches just as easily.

Sakura began to get annoyed. That's it!" she yelled, jumping back to get some distance between him and her. She ran through some handsigns, and called out, **"Illusion Art: Infinite Cherry Blossum!"** As she said the words, several sakura petals appeared out of no where, engulfing the battle field and blocking everyone's view.

Shikamaru saw it was just a genjutsu and quickly released himself to find Sakura only a few feet away with a kunai in her hand ready to bring it down on him. He dodged the strike, and kicked her in the gut only for his foot to pass through her body. He widened his eyes as the realization hit him full blast. _'A clone!'_

Before he could turn around, he felt a punch connect with his jaw, and he went skidding across the ground. Where he once stood was Sakura, holding her fist out from when she clocked him in the face.

* * *

"What just happened?!" Ino practically shouted.

Naruto chuckled to himself. "Nice move Sakura."

Ino shot a glare at him. "What does that mean? What did she do!?"

Shino was the one to answer for him. "She used the genjutsu earlier to mask her next move, which was create a clone to be a distraction while she got in close to get a hit in. A very good strategy."

Choji munched on another potato chip. "Yeah, but that won't really help her now." he said.

Everyone except Naruto and Shino gave him questioning looks. "As much as I hate to admit it, Choji's right. Sakura's lost this match." Naruto said in an off-handed way.

"How do you know?" Kiba inquired.

"Just watch and see." was Naruto's answer, and they all focused back in on the fight taking place.

* * *

Shikamaru lay on the ground, rubbing his jaw. "Tsk.. Lucky punch."

Sakura smirked, proud of herself that her plan had actually worked. She was about to charge the lazy bum again before he could get up, but when she tried to move, her body resisted the motion. "Wha- What's happening?"

"**Shadow Possession Jutsu **successful." Shikamaru said from his crouched position. It was then that Sakura noticed a thin, darkened shadow that stretched from his body to her shadow.

"Dammit." she cursed herself for being so careless and not finishing him before he could react. Seeing no way out, she did the reasonable thing and forfeited. "Proctor, I yield. I can't do anything while he has control of my body."

Hayate acknowledged. "Sakura has forfeited the match. Winner, Shikamaru Nara." he said as said Nara withdrew his shadow and walked back up to the balcony along with Sakura.

"Yeah! Woo! Good job Shikamaru! You aren't a total lazy ass after all!" Ino shouted in merriment as her teammate approached them, to which he just mumbled something about 'troublesome women' and what not.

Sakura took her place next to her team. "Hey, you alright?" Naruto asked.

She looked up at her team who were looking at her with concern. She smiled back at them. "Yeah. No problem. I just got a bad match up is all. It just means I need to train harder so I can pass the next time."

Kakashi eye-smiled at his student, Sasuke upturned his lips, and Naruto gave her a thumbs up. "Damn straight you will!" Naruto said to her.

"Thanks guys." she said with sincerity.

"Onto the third match." Hayate called out to everyone as the names blurred by on the computer screen. The names stopped, revealing the names of Tenten and Kankuro. The two of them descended the flight of stairs, standing apart from one another while Hayate stood in the middle.

"The third match between Kankuro Sabaku and Tenten. Begin!"

Kankuro and Tenten both jumped away from each other, distancing themselves. They both stood motionless, warily watching the other, waiting to see who would make the first move. After a minute or so, Kankuro hefted the object on his back off him and on to the ground and unwrapped it, revealing a humanoid puppet with four arms, three eyes, shaggy hair, and a cape.

Tenten, responding to his action, took out a scroll, unraveled it, and took out several assorted weapons for throwing at him. She unleashed a barrage of sharp objects upon him, but as they were about to hit him, he flicked his wrist and his puppet sprang to life, appearing in front of him and blocking all the weapons from reaching him.

"What?" Tenten said in disbelief.

Kankuro smirked. "I'm a puppeteer girly, and with Crow here, I can block anything you throw at me." he said, motioning to his puppet that chattered creepily.

Tenten didn't show her frustration. She just kept lobbing object after object at him, and Kankuro just deflected all of them with Crow's own blades. Once she was done throwing for the moment, Kankuro took advantage of the delay and sent Crow forward.

"Take this!" he shouted at her as poisonous needles shot out from Crow's mouth.

Tenten deftly avoided the poisonous shots and jumped around the puppet to head straight for Kankuro. She was once again intercepted by Crow who tried to jab at her with the blades in his hands. She dodged strike after strike, and while she appeared to be doing fine, she was wearing out fast.

She kicked the puppet away once she had an opening and backhand springed away from the costume boy and his puppet. "I was hoping to save this for the finals, but it looks like I'll have to use it now."

She pulled out two scrolls, a blue and red one, and tossed them into the air. The twin scrolls unfurled as she released them, spiraling up. She jumped into the air to the top of the scrolls. **"Twin Dragon Rising!"**

She began to unseal weapon after weapon from the seemingly never-ending scrolls and launch them at Kankuro and Crow. Kankuro had Crow deflect all of them, either by having it take the brunt of the attack or deflecting it.

When she finished her attack, Kankuro smirked, "Was that it?"

Tenten scowled. "I'm not done yet!" she yelled at him as she lifted both of her hands and all the grounded weapons responded by rising into the air and aiming themselves at Kankuro.

Kankuro took a step back in awe. _'She's controlling all of those weapons with chakra strings?!'_

"Eat this!" she shouted as the airborne weapons surged forward. Kankuro had Crow appear behind him before the weapons struck into and around him, resulting in a dusty explosion from the weapons destroying the ground.

* * *

"Hey! She won!" Sakura said gleefully.

"YOSH! THAT IS MY YOUTHFUL TEAMMATE!" Lee shouted with overexagerated enthusiasm.

"INDEED SHE IS LEE! SHE HAS SHOWN JUST HOW YOUTHFUL SHE IS HERE TODAY! THIS IS A PROUD AND YOUTHFUL MOMENT FOR HER!" an older version of Lee said with the same over exagerated enthusiasm.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee said to the man.

"LEE!" Gai said to him.

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

Kakashi sighed in annoyance. "Will you two please stop?" he said more as a statement more than a question. "Anyways, she hasn't won yet."

Gai gave Kakashi an incredulous stare. "What are you saying my eternal rival of youth?"

The sensei for Team Ten, Asuma, chuckled. "Sorry Gai, but Kakashi's right."

All of the genin turned to look at the younger Sarutobi. "What do you mean Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

Asuma motioned towards the arena floor. "Why don't you see for yourself." he said as the dusty haze began to clear.

* * *

Tenten stood at the far edge of the arena, breathing rather heavily from the strain on her muscles for chucking so many weapons and then controlling them to attack Kankuro. She knew better than to expect he was defeated, but still held hope that she had got him.

Her hope was taken away as the dust finally cleared revealing Crow with several of her weapons in its back. But what really made her lose her hope was when the puppet moved revealing Kankuro hiding underneath of it.

"Whew, that was a close one!" Kankuro admitted to himself before fixating his eyes on his opponent. "Not bad, but it's game over. **Secret Black Move: Crushing Puppet Drill**!"

He then sent Crow straight at her, the puppet rotating, throwing the imbedded weapons away and appearing somewhat like a drill. Tenten tried to dodge, but she only managed to jump a few feet away, still too drained from her last attack.

The result ended in her being drilled by Crow, sending her twisting away from the blow into the nearby wall. The force of the attack wasn't enough to kill, but as soon as she hit, she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Hayate waited a minute to see if she would get back up. When she did not, he called the match in Kankuro's favor. "Tenten cannot continue. Winner, Kankuro Sabaku."

Kankuro smirked to himself, bringing Crow back over to him and wrapping back into a bundle to be placed on his back. He walked back up the stairs as Tenten was carried away to the infirmary for her injuries.

* * *

"Impressive. He used his puppet as a shield to block all the weapons. He seems resourceful." Asuma stated so that all the genin understood what had happened. The Leaf genin gave sympathetic looks to Tenten, while Naruto watched Kankuro walk back up the stairs to stand next to his team.

The black-clad boy took his place next to his two siblings, but glanced fearfully at Gaara. Naruto saw this and gave Gaara a questioning look, which the red-head saw and ever so subtly shook his head. Naruto nodded in understanding. Gaara probably didn't fully trust his team yet with the information he was given. '_He'll probably tell them by the time the finals come around.'_ the blonde reasoned.

Hayate went into another coughing fit. "Alright, on to the next match." The remaining names whirred by in a flash. Every one of the genin awaited the results to see who would be the next to fight. The names finally stopped flashing on the monitor, revealing the next two combatants.

'Misumi Tsurugi v. Sasuke Uchiha'

Sasuke smirked. "Guess it's my go."

"Good luck Sasuke." Sakura said in a friendly way.

Naruto gave his best friend a fist bump. "Good luck bro. Win this one for the team!"

Their little pep talk done, Sasuke descended the stairs and stood in the center of the arena, apart from Misumi.

Misumi, for one, looked absolutely creepy. A member a Kabuto's team, he wore glasses much like his teammate Yoroi, only his were clear, making his stare behind the cloth mask of his seem very unnerving.

"Ready? Begin!" was the call out from Hayate, and the two jumped into action, ready to confront one another.

Sasuke swung his fist at Misumi, his Sharingan spinning as his opponent aimed a strike at him also. His foe missed his strike at Sasuke thanks to his dojutsu, but at the cost of Sasuke missing as well. Then Misumi's arm twisted and coiled around Sasuke's.

_'What the-?'_ was the collective thought of all the people present and watching minus Misumi's remaining team.

Misumi snaked his way over Sasuke until he effectively had all of the Uchiha's limbs pinned in some sort of fashion."HAHAHAAA! I can use my chakra to dislocate my joints and allow my body to twist at angles not normally possible!"

He then brought his stretchy hands up to Sasuke's head so that he could snap it in an instant. "Accept defeat, and I'll spare you."

Sasuke felt slightly unnerved by the carelessness this shinobi felt for an ally. He berated himself on the thought since he too was like that not too long ago, and could still be like that had it not been for his team. Still, he felt confident in his abilities, so he wasn't going to just back down. "I will not!" he said defiantly, struggling to get away from the stretchy man's grip.

Misumi, behind his mask, smirked evilly. "Suit yourself."

Hayate knew he had to act quickly, but before he could call the match, Misumi, in one short and quick motion, flicked his hands and Sasuke's neck snapped at an unnatural angle, resulting in the gasps of several of the rooms occupants.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Ino and Sakura said in unison.

"He... He's d-dead?" Kiba said in utter disbelief. Even the sensei's looked shocked at the turn of events.

"That's pretty brutal, especially for a fellow ninja." Asuma stated with a cold tone. Kurenai nodded in agreement, along with Gai and Kakashi.

Kakashi silently worried over his student, and, to a lesser extent, his own well-being. If the council found out that the last loyal heir to the Uchiha died in the Chunin Exam Preliminaries...

He shook the thought out of his head. He glanced at both of his students to see if they were taking this any worse than him.

Not to his surprise, Sakura looked like an emotional wreck, having just witnessed Sasuke, her object of affection for years and recent friend, get killed off in such a quick manner. She looked like she was going to rip her hair out, scream, throw up from her throat hurting as a result, and repeat the process tenfold.

The real surprise came from Naruto, who kept an aura of cool during the whole fight. In fact, he even had a light smirk.

Kakashi didn't think Naruto was so heartless as to smile at his friend's death, so he figured the blonde must be hiding something. "Do you know something we don't Naruto?" he said to his genin student, making the others look at him with questionable looks as well.

All the blonde did was smirk even bigger than before. "Just watch and see. Sasuke came to me and asked for my help a few weeks before we began the exams, and you're about to see what I helped him with."

This intrigued all of the other teams, excluding Sasuke's own, who thought that the Uchiha was too proud to accept any help outside of the elders. But, despite his team knowing about his personality change, Sakura and Kakashi, along with everyone else had one collective thought; _'What did you teach him Naruto?'_

It was then that they noticed a commotion happening on the arena floor.

* * *

Misumi held a firm grip on Sasuke's body, not wanting to risk the chance of freeing his victim in the case that he did survive.

Hayate looked ready to call the match and send word to the Hokage that one of their genin had died, but was stopped when Sasuke burst with a puff of smoke, catching him, Misumi, and everyone in the room besides Naruto by surprise.

"What!?" Misumi shouted in frustration. "But, how?"

"Two words: Shadow Clones."

Everyone turned to stare at the large statue positioned at the far end of the arena. On the top of the statue's head was none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself, smirking at his own craftiness.

He shot a thankful look to Naruto. He had approached the blonde in hopes of having a trump card to have in the case he was trapped and needed a quick method of escape or to use as a valuable distraction, so he asked if he could copy Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu.

While Naruto agreed to let him learn it from him, he also told him the drawbacks of the technique. One being that it takes a massive amount of chakra to use, and can ultimately kill you from chakra exhaustion if you don't have the reserves to do it large-scale or repeatedly. Secondly, anything the clone learns is transferred back to the original once they dispel, and while this is helpful for training or information gathering, it gives the user a slight headache with the information they receive from multiple clones dispelling at a time. But, since Sasuke's limit was currently only one clone, he wouldn't have this problem.

The real problem for Sasuke was how many times he could do the technique as well as the other jutsu in his arsenal. From practicing with Naruto, he found that he can do the technique a total of five times in a row, without using any of his own jutsu, before he felt severely drained of his chakra. The two of them agreed that he would only use the shadow clones if the situation absolutely required it, like life and death.

Lucky for Sasuke, he was able to replace himself with a shadow clone before Misumi pinned his arms and legs. As a result, Misumi only killed a shadow clone, not the real Sasuke. And now that Sasuke knew what to expect from his enemy, he would not underestimate him a second time.

Sasuke jumped off of the statue, flashing through signs in mid-air. "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" he said before expelling a fireball from his mouth.

Misumi jumped away to avoid the attack with ease. Once he was a safe enough distance away, he took out a sealing scroll and unraveled it. He cut his finger with a kunai and smeared the blood on the scroll, releasing the contents. Out of the scroll poured a steady amount of water, rising up to Sasuke's ankles within seconds.

_'So, he's a water user, huh?'_ Sasuke thought. _'Just great. I don't know any earth jutsu. We'll just have to see who's the stronger here...'_

The water finally stopped pouring from the scroll, not too deep, but still up to both combatants ankles. They both jumped out of the water and landed on it without sinking. Sasuke also gave another thankful look to Naruto, who had helped him and Sakura learn water-walking during the time after the wave mission.

Misumi began hand sealing away, finishing it by plunging his hands into the water and literally picking up two clumps of water. One of the clumps turned into a curved blade, while the other rounded itself and flattened, turning into a makeshift shield. "**Water Style: Water Weaponry**!"

Sasuke frowned at the two new toys that his opponent had. He tried to devise a strategy that would best take this guy out in the quickest and most efficient way. Before he could come up with anything good though, Misumi charged him, his shield held in front and his sword to the side of it, ready to run him through.

Sasuke did a backflip away from him, preparing for a fire jutsu to hopefully slow him down if not stop him. "**Fire Style: Ember Shower Jutsu**!" Sasuke sucked in like a puffer fish, then let out an exhaled breath laced with dozens of small fireballs aimed for the Konoha-nin.

Misumi didn't even slow down as the embers hit his shield of water, fizzing out harmlessly as they hit it, the steam creating a thin mist around the arena.

Sasuke watched the whole thing with his Sharingan active, trying to see a hole in his opponents defense. He noticed the steam created by his jutsu against the water, and he grinned at his own brilliance.

He landed on the water once again, and in seconds Misumi was in front of him, his water sword aiming to decapitate him then and there. Sasuke ducked under the strike thanks to his Sharingan, then grabbed Misumi's shoulders, jumped over his head, then kickflipped off of his back.

Misumi recoiled from the blow, turning around and glaring at the Uchiha, who was preparing another fire jutsu. "It's useless!" Misumi said, "You're justu can't even touch me!"

Sasuke smirked, finishing the last hand sign for his intended jutsu. "Who said I was preparing it for you?" he said, confusing Misumi. "**Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu**!"

The extra-large fireball, instead of going for Misumi, was aimed straight at the water on the arena floor below Sasuke. The fireball collided with the water, creating a heavy steam from the attack, covering the entire floor.

* * *

"Smart move Sasuke." Kakashi commented as he realized what his student was doing.

"What did he do exactly?" Sakura asked.

Asuma answered the question. "He used a fire jutsu to create a mist that will blind his opponent and give himself an opportunity to win this match."

"Um... Won't he be blind too?" Choji asked his sensei.

"For a normal genin, yes, he would." Kakashi said to him, "But, you're forgetting that Sasuke has the Sharingan, so he can see through the mist."

All of the genin nodded in understanding, seeing how this gave Sasuke the upper hand in the fight. They all focused back in on the misted arena, trying their hardest to see what was happening inside the haze.

* * *

Misumi warily swept his vision left and right for any sign of the Uchiha. Though it was only a mist steam, the arena was sealed so their was no way of escaping unless someone had a jutsu or ability to get rid of it. Sadly for him, Misumi had neither. So he just waited, cautiously trying to anticipate where an attack may come from.

He heard running footsteps coming from his right, and ducked just in time to see Sasuke throw a punch over his head. He performed a sweep at Sasuke's legs, knocking him off his feet and into the shallow water. While Sasuke was struggling to get up, Misumi dropped his jutsu and stomped a foot on his ribcage, making him wheeze. "Do you give brat?" Misumi asked mockingly.

Sasuke struggled to get his foot off him, but stopped after a few seconds. Instead of surrendering like Misumi thought he would, he just smirked and disappeared in a plume of smoke.

"Fuck! A shadow clone!" Misumi cried out before he felt someone kick him hard in the back.

"That's right." Sasuke said as he applied more force to the kick, launching Misumi up into the air. Sasuke was above him in a quick burst of speed, performing a roundhouse kick to Misumi's midsection before following up with a backhanded punch to the same area, sending him plummeting faster towards the floor. Sasuke finished his combo by bringing his left leg down in an axe kick on the same spot as the other hits as Misumi hit the watery floor. "**Lion's Barrage**!" He yelled as he finished his combo attack.

Misumi crashed into the water with great force, hitting the ground just beneath the surface with a crack. His body lurched upwards, then back down again from the impact. His eyes were blank, and some blood oozed from the corner of his cloth mask.

Sasuke stood up, breathing hard from the effort of the attacks. "Proctor, it's over."

Hayate performed a small wind justu and the steam cleared, revealing Sasuke standing over a downed Misumi, who looked out cold.

"Misumi is unable to continue. Winner, Sasuke Uchiha." Hayate said as he motioned to the winner of the match.

Sasuke breathed in a deep sigh before walking at a leisurely pace back to his team. A group of medics came in a resealed all the water, as well as carried Misumi off to the infirmary.

* * *

"Nice job bro!" Naruto said to his friend.

Sasuke smirked back at him. "Did you expect any less? I just hope you don't get floored in your match. I really want to fight you the most."

Naruto smirked at him. "Oh yeah? Just watch, my match will be ten times better than yours was!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

They both stared each other down before breaking out into a hysterical laughter. Kakashi smiled at his two students, and Sakura joined in on the laughing.

"Hey Sasuke, did Naruto teach you how to do the **Shadow Clone Jutsu**?" Kakashi asked his black-haired student, already aware of what the answer was.

"Yes, he did Kakashi-sensei. I asked him if he would allow me to copy it, and he agreed, while giving some tips and info about the technique, as well as its drawbacks. Naruto and I have worked on it to where I know what my limits are, so there's no need to worry." Sasuke told him.

Kakashi didn't look convinced, but didn't argue any further. _'Besides,'_ he figured, _'this could help greatly in the future.'_

Hayate coughed to get all the attention back to the arena. "Alright the next match is up on the board."

All of the teams looked up to the board, all with varying reactions to the names that appeared. Team Eight went rigid when they saw the names of the fighters. Team Nine didn't display any outward emotion, except for Neji who smirked at the pairings. Team Ten was surprised by the names, but didn't openly show it. the only person on Team Seven that looked concerned about the match was Naruto. The other two teams showed indifference towards the names, seeing as nobody on either of their teams was pitted in the match.

On the board were the only two people participating with same last names, 'Neji Hyuga v. Hinata Hyuga.'

* * *

Original Jutsu

**Illusion Art: Infinite Cherry Blossum**

_Rank: D_

_Description: Genjutsu. User creates an image of thousands of sakura petals floating in an area, rendering the victim blind for a few short seconds._

**Secret Black Move: Crushing Puppet Drill**

_Rank: C_

_Description: Offensive puppet ninjutsu. The user of the puppet has it rotate at incredible speeds to then bash into an opponent (Much like the Inuzuka's __**Fang Over Fang**__)._

**Fire Style: Ember Shower Jutsu**

_Rank: D_

_Description: Offensive fire element ninjutsu. Smaller version of **Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu**. The user inhales deeply before spitting out several tiny balls of fire to attack a foe. _

**Water Style: Water Weaponry**

_Rank: B_

_Description: Offensive/defensive water element ninjutsu. The caster forms weapons out of water to be used at will. Only forms primitive weaponry, like swords, blades, axes, knives, and shields._

* * *

Next Chapter - **Chapter XVI: Preliminary Showdowns Part Two**


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